Travel body accuses government of ‘sabotaging’ UK tourism industry

Retailers have said the government’s decision to remove a tax break for visitors to the UK has put them at a ‘competitive disadvantage’. Photograph: Kevin Coombs/Reuters

The government has been accused of “sabotaging” the UK’s tourism industry, after figures showed international visitors spent more than £2bn less last year than they did before the pandemic.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – which found in a new study that people visiting the UK spent £40.3bn in 2024, down 5.3% on 2019 – said that the government has made “deliberate policy choices” that had created “barriers to travel”.