TravTalk India Online Magazine
Anupriya Bishnoi
USA, Australia and India continue to take the top spot for the UK’s most favourite long-haul inbound tourism markets, according to research revealed at WTM London 2019.
In a list of the top 30 long-haul countries and the top long-haul 50 cities, there have been some significant new entrants. Nigeria has made it back into the top 10 countries, up 13.7% year-on-year, kicking out the UAE, and Bangladesh has made it in to the top 30, replacing Chile.
Growth has been recorded from several markets, most noticeably Bangladesh, up 32.5%, China, up 19.8% and Taiwan, up 16%.
The top three long-haul cities are New York (up 3.6%), Hong Kong (up 7.4%) and Sydney (down 2.1%).
The most notable risers in the list of cities during the past year are Abjua (up 21%), Delhi (up 21%), Miami (up 20%) and Seattle (up 17%), all of which have climbed four or more places up the ranking.
Behind the changes in rankings are strong trends including the continued growth of China and other Asian economies, the strength of the US dollar, improvements in connectivity, recovery of commodity prices, particularly oil, the Argentine debt crisis and even the attractiveness of the Cricket World Cup.
In third place, India showed a phenomenal growth, up 14.5% compared to 2018, with a quarter of all Indian arrivals staying more than 22 nights. The Cricket World Cup, held in the UK in May and June this year, were cited as having a huge impact on visitor numbers.
