International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: International tourism, number of departures was 23.83 million in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 93.09 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 23.83 million, in 2020.
That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 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% |
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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
More private sector data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Merchandise trade 37.6% (2025)
- Food imports 9.8% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 56.7% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 948.64 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 6.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 59.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 555.83 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,999 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1389 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.02 % change on previous year (2025)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- International tourism, number of departures in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 93.09 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.83 million in 2020.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 9th out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- 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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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.