Blog: International Visitor Market Research
Establishing better baseline metrics
UK Barometer Projection Rings True for Summer Bookings
By Scott Johnson on 03 December 2010 - 09:27
Barometer Projection Rings True for Summer Bookings
In July the UK Travel Trade Barometer (TTB) projected an increase in bookings from the UK this summer. The TTB projection ran counter to traditional econometric -based forecasts that projected a decline in British travel.
Today (December 1, 2010) the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries released the actual change in visitor arrivals for the third quarter - up 2.5%. The UK TTB was on target! The UK TTB also projected an increase in bookings for the fourth quarter. The UK may even register very modest growth instead of marked declines by the end of the year given August, September, and October combine for some of the strongest visitation months.
Preliminary results from the latest UK TTB projected fourth quarter 2010 and first quarter 2011 bookings growing modestly. The UK TTB indicated that confidence in traveling to the U.S. is up. Concerns for travel included: the Level of promotion by other long-haul destinations, Visa processing time, and Airfare, Air capacity, and of course the Global economy and Economy in the UK.