Tourism: Strong pound hits UK tourism

The strong pound is set to hit the number of overseas visitors coming to Britain for months to come, according to a senior tourism official. Foreign tourists to the UK totalled 2.92 million in August 1997 - down 3 per cent on the August 1996 figure.

And 1998 is unlikely to show any improvement, said Richard Tobias, chief executive of the British Incoming Tour Operators Association. "There's no doubt that exchange rates are to blame for the fall, with visitors from western Europe particularly badly affected," he said. "The one determining factor with tourism is cost. I can't see the pound weakening very much next year, so numbers are unlikely to rise in 1998.

Britain is currently fifth in the world list for the number of incoming visitors, lying ahead of China and behind France, the USA, Italy and Spain.