UK. Heathrow Airport has warned of a potential multi-billion pound economic impact if the UK fails to extend its ‘green list’ on 7 June. Arrivals from green list states are subject to eased travel restrictions and do not need to quarantine in the UK.
Research from the economic forecasting group Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reveals that business and leisure passengers arriving at Heathrow alone spend over £16 billion pounds across the country.
US visitors travelling through Heathrow are the largest source of inbound tourism revenue for the UK economy, with these passengers accounting for £3.74 billion pounds, nearly a quarter (23%) of total spend while visiting the UK, noted the airport company.
Before the pandemic, the US was the top market for passenger traffic, with Heathrow – New York JFK one of the world’s most lucrative routes and over 21 million passengers travelling from the airport to the US in 2019. Heathrow said that this highlights the “urgent need” to restore the UK’s transatlantic routes – by adding the US to the green list at the earliest opportunity.
Heathrow said in a statement that there is a risk that these US visitors could go elsewhere. Italy has opened its doors to fully vaccinated American travellers, and France is preparing to follow.
The CEBR research also indicates that spend in the UK by passengers travelling through Heathrow is set to grow to £18.1 billion a year by the middle of the decade, if international air travel resumes this summer. But if conditions prevent that and visitor numbers grow more slowly, expenditure might hit just £13.6 billion by 2025.
This news comes as Heathrow is working with the government to launch a new dedicated red list arrivals facility, creating more capacity for arrivals from an expanded green list. At first, the dedicated facility will be in Terminal 3 and launch on 1 June, before it is moved to Terminal 4.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: “This research shows just how many businesses across the UK are losing out because of the government’s restrictions on access to overseas visitors and markets. The government has the tools to protect both public health and the economy and Ministers must unlock more low risk destinations across Europe, as well as the US, as part of the next review on 7 June.”
Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive of New West End Company in London, said: “The streets of London are usually bustling with tourists at this time of year as they fly in not just to visit our world famous landmarks, but to spend money in our shops, theatres, hotels and restaurants. Many of these businesses have lost out enormously in the last fifteen months, impacting livelihoods across the capital, so a return of visitors this summer from overseas would be hugely welcome. We urge the Government to do all it can to enable their safe return.”
Andrew McKenzie Smith, Founder of Lindores Abbey Distillery in Newburgh, Fife, said: “Distilleries in Scotland are renowned across the world. It’s why tourists – especially from the US – have always flown in in their droves to see our craftsmen and women in action, bringing millions of pounds with them which helps support local workers, businesses and communities. However, without overseas travel, this vital source of revenue has been lost for the last year to the detriment of these very same people. It’s not just airports and airlines counting on its resumption. It’s distillers across Fife and wider Scotland like ourselves.”
Visits to the UK in 2020 were -73% down on pre-pandemic levels, according to recently published Office for National Statistics data. This caused total visitor expenditure to drop by -78% from 2019 levels to £6.2 billion.
