01 — The two ledgers
Inbound and outbound, side by side. Each figure on its own perimeter and vintage — do not net them across years.
| Ledger | Measure | Value | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inbound | Inbound visits | 40.8M | ONS Travel Trends 2025, 16 Oct 2026 (UK perimeter) |
| Inbound spend | £29.8bn | Same release | |
| GB perimeter | 36.9M · £29.2bn | ONS, Great Britain only | |
| VisitBritain estimate | 43.6M · £33.2bn | Different methodology — see section 02 | |
| Top GB sources | US 5.5M · FR 3.1M · DE 2.8M | ONS, 2025 | |
| Outbound | Visits abroad | 99.9M +5.6% | ONS, 2025 (94.6M in 2024) |
| Spend abroad | £86.2bn | ≈£863 per visit* | |
| No.1 destination | Spain 19.1M visits | One British visit in five; France 9.1M, Italy 5.7M next | |
| Per-day spend to Europe | £94 (2024) | Below what inbound visitors spend per day in Britain |
The double-edged survey. The ONS reads both directions of the same instrument — 99.9M visits out, 40.8M in — which is why the two ledgers above are directly comparable inside the ONS perimeter and nowhere else. The UK's travel balance stays in deficit: Britain spends far more abroad (£86.2bn) than visitors leave in Britain (£29.8bn).
02 — Two official perimeters, one country
The 2025 inbound number depends on who counts. This is a methodological divergence, not a revision — do not average them.
The ONS series (International Passenger Survey) is the statistical record; VisitBritain's estimate is the industry planning number and runs consistently higher. The quarterly pulse inside the ONS series cooled into winter — +5.5% in Q3, −2.7% in Q4 — so the 2026 inbound story starts from a softer base than the headline suggests. For 2024 the two lenses were closer (ONS GB: 42.5M / £32.5bn); the 2025 gap is the widest in years.
03 — Gateways
2025 throughput, all nationalities (Heathrow and Manchester traffic releases):
| Airport | 2025 pax | Role |
|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow (LHR) | 84.5M | Record year; corridors JFK 3.24M · DXB 2.86M · DOH 2.01M |
| Manchester (MAN) | 32.1M | Record year (release 12 Jan 2026); the north's long-haul gateway |
04 — TIO coverage of the UK
Everything the office publishes on the country, one click away:
Sources. ONS — Travel Trends 2025, 16 Oct 2026 (inbound visits/spend on UK and GB perimeters, outbound visits/spend, top sources, quarterly pulse); ONS Travel Trends 2024 estimates via the House of Commons Library tourism briefing, Feb 2026 (per-day detail, 2024 levels) · VisitBritain — 2025 inbound estimate (separate perimeter, flagged) · ABTA — Travel Trends for 2026 · Heathrow Airport — 2025 traffic release; Manchester Airport — 2025 record release, 12 Jan 2026. Cells marked * are our arithmetic on published estimates; all other figures are published data on the perimeters stated.