§ Mr. MossTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether tourism in the UK has grown as an industry in each of the last 10 years; how many people are employed in tourism in the UK; and what percentage of GDP is accounted for by the tourism industry. [128577]
§ Mr. CabornThe available data on annual expenditure by domestic and foreign tourists in the UK over the last 10 years are shown in the table.
Annual expenditure by domestic and foreign tourists in the UK for each of the last 10 years £ million Expenditure by foreign tourists in the UK Expenditure by UK tourists in the UK Total expenditure by tourists in the UK 1993 9,487 1— 1— 1994 9,786 1— 1— 1995 11,763 20,072 31,835 1996 12,290 22,041 34,331 1997 12,244 24,137 36,381 1998 12,671 22,814 35,485 1999 12,498 25,635 38,133 2000 12,805 26,133 38,938 2001 11,306 26,094 37,400 2002 11,859 26,699 38,558 1 Not available Sources:
International Passenger Survey
UK Tourism Survey
While there has been a generally increasing trend in the value of UK tourism expenditure over the past 10 years, it has not increased every year. In particular, tourism expenditure since 2000 has been affected by the foot and mouth epidemic, the SARS virus and the war with Iraq.
It is estimated that 2.1 million people are employed in the tourism-related industries.
It is also estimated that the tourism industry accounts for approximately 4.5 per cent. of UK GDP.