The Tourism Alliance welcomes Chancellor’s announcement on airport expansion as crucial to supporting tourism sector.

In response to today’s [29th January 2025] speech by the Chancellor, Richard Toomer, Executive Director of the Tourism Alliance, said:

“Ensuring we have good air connections is vital for the UK visitor economy. As an island nation, and as the seventh most visited destination the world, our visitors, and our outbound tourists, need a strong network of good and reliable air connections across the country. More than 80% of our international visitors arrive by air.

“The Tourism Alliance welcomes the Chancellor’s speech today, setting out the Government’s support for the expansion of our airports, and do to so in an environmentally sustainable way, in recognition of the fact that this will drive economic growth, promote trade, and support inbound and outbound tourism.

“Improving connections to important tourism markets such as America and growing links to destinations like China and India are crucial if we are to capitalise on the potential of those markets.

“It was especially good to hear the Chancellor talk about the need for a third runway at our vital hub airport, Heathrow, and also recognise the importance of regional airports, including at Doncaster/Sheffield. We are also hopeful of positive announcements about Gatwick and Luton in the very near future. None of these should be thought of as mutually exclusive – tourists need options and these airports all fulfil very important and different roles.

“For tourists – both leisure and business – this is not just about extra runways or increasing capacity. It is also about ensuring the best possible end-to-end travel experience, with less disruption, better welcome, and continuing to improve ground connectivity too.

“Tourists will continue to want to visit our country for all it has to offer, but we also must ensure we are competitive against other destinations on price, convenience, welcome, and – crucially – connectivity. Today’s speech by the Chancellor will hopefully move us towards that goal.

“However, we also need her to follow through on other areas, such as reversing the decision to increase the fee for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for our non-visa nationals by 60%, taking steps to reduce our uncompetitive visa costs, and supporting tourism businesses struggling as a result of her recent budget announcements.”