International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: International tourism, number of departures was 23.83 million in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
In 2020, international tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom stood at 23.83 million. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 74.4% on the previous year and down 63.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom peaked at 93.09 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 23.83 million, in 2020.
That places United Kingdom 9th out of 117 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 41.34 million | — |
| 1996 | 42.05 million | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 45.96 million | +9.3% |
| 1998 | 50.87 million | +10.7% |
| 1999 | 53.88 million | +5.9% |
| 2000 | 56.84 million | +5.5% |
| 2001 | 58.28 million | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 59.38 million | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 61.42 million | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 64.19 million | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 66.49 million | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 69.54 million | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 69.45 million | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 69.01 million | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 63.51 million | -8.0% |
| 2010 | 64.65 million | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 67.49 million | +4.4% |
| 2012 | 66.86 million | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 68.96 million | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 72.20 million | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 77.62 million | +7.5% |
| 2016 | 81.76 million | +5.3% |
| 2017 | 87.24 million | +6.7% |
| 2018 | 90.57 million | +3.8% |
| 2019 | 93.09 million | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 23.83 million | -74.4% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 23.83 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.67 million, 8.9× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 23.83 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.87 million, 8.3× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -74.4% | 93.09 million | 23.83 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 46.82 million | 41.34 million | 53.88 million | 5 |
| 2000s | 63.81 million | 56.84 million | 69.54 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 77.04 million | 64.65 million | 93.09 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.83 million | 23.83 million | 23.83 million | 1 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More private sector data for United Kingdom
- Merchandise trade 37.6% (2025)
- Food imports 9.8% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 56.7% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 948.64 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 448.00 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 6.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 59.7% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 555.83 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 714.60 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,999 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom?
- International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom was 23.83 million in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of departures recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 93.09 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.83 million in 2020.
- How does United Kingdom rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- United Kingdom ranks 9th out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 63.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, number of departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.