Domestic tourism trips within the UK are set to fall by 22% this year, according to research from GlobalData.
The data firm is predicting that the number of domestic trips will fall from 122 million in 2019 to 95 million in 2020, as the industry prepares to reopen on Saturday (4 July).
GlobalData added that despite the imminent reopening of UK tourism, there was still a “massive hole in consumer confidence due to safety concerns”.
Ralph Hollister, travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, added: “As with the earlier opening up of the UK high street we expect a rush of interest and a spike in bookings.
“This expectation has already come to fruition as domestic holiday bookings surged when prime minister Boris Johnson announced the reopening of the industry.
“However, it remains to be seen whether the industry’s recovery will continue to be ’V’ shaped, or if bookings start to plateau after the initial surge.”
Hollister said that “local spikes” in infections and potential lockdowns, such as the one seen in Leicester this week, could also “prolong the recovery of the UK’s domestic tourism industry”.