French and German Tourists’ Interest in UK Drops Significantly Due to Bureaucratic Requirements
According to data from Visit Britain and the Anholt Ipsos Nation Brand Index show that the tourist destination’s desirability has decreased among these two nationalities, dropping nine places in the German popularity rankings and five in the French lists since Brexit, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
This situation is particularly unfavourable for Brits, considering that French and German tourists represent two of the main tourism markets for the country. In 2023, German and French tourists have booked half of the tours in Oxfordshire that they did in 2019.
Furthermore, passenger vehicle transport via Le Shuttle Channel Tunnel dropped by 21 per cent in the last four years, while in 2022, Brittany Ferries received only 46 per cent of their pre-pandemic arrivals.
Moreover, the number of students and schools travelling to the UK has dropped by a whopping 83 per cent, causing the country a loss of £875 million and 14,500 jobs, as the Transcontinental Times reveals.
“We know that the introduction of the new requirement for passports for EU citizens to access the UK … is proving to be a deterrent to travel, particularly for school groups, due to the additional costs and bureaucracy,” Joss Croft, Chief Executive of UKinbound, said, blaming the plummeting rates on post-Brexit bureaucracy.
Since October 2021, EU citizens have had to present their passports to enter the UK. French and German tourists have to present a passport, too, while prior to the new measures, they could use ID cards to pass the UK border checks.
One of the most affected factors, as an important part of the UK market, was school visits which dropped significantly. Teachers planning trips to the UK had to deal with rising costs as well as bureaucratic issues, such as some children not holding EU passports who had to pay €108 (£95) each for a UK entry visa. Instead, school visits have been shifted to other destinations.
On top of this, Manchester has started charging tourists a nightly tax, making the city the first of its kind in the UK. The measure entered force in April, and it is called “City Visitor Charge”, pushing apartments and guest houses in the centre to pay €1.14 (£1) per night per room. This change is expected to generate about £3 million (€3.4 million) per year for the country’s economy.
