Although it was dubbed one of Britain’s least desirable locations to reside in, visitors apparently adore Crawley.
According to government statistics, the town of West Sussex has become one of the top destinations for international tourists.
It was ranked 15th according to the Office for National Statistics (
ONS
) list of destinations.
That put it above
Nottingham
(16th) Robin Hood’s home country, and Aberdeen (17th), which has frequently won the ‘Beautiful Scotland’ award.
Crawley, originating from the Old English term ‘crawe leah,’ signifying ‘a clearing frequented by crows,’ managed to surpass Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Reading, and the renowned pilgrimage site of Canterbury.
The outcomes might be attributed to Crawley being home to
Gatwick
The airport, a key global hub utilized by millions of travelers.
Crawley was placed at number 20 on a list identifying the least desirable locations to reside in, as compiled by a national newspaper.
This ignited a strong defense from The Argus, a nearby publisher based in the Brighton area, stating that it was “a wonderful place to reside.”
The ONS report, which was based on the count of overnight stays, left out London.
The report indicated that the capital saw 20.3 million overnight visits in 2023.
Edinburgh, leading the chart, reportedly saw 2.3 million visitors as per the extensive survey, which was derived from responses collected from hundreds of thousands of participants.
Manchester (1.7M) secured the second spot and
Birmingham
(934,000) third.
Liverpool (900,000) and Glasgow (685,000) completed the top five list.
In 2023, foreign residents made 38 million visits to the UK, an increase from 31.2 million in 2022.
Expenditure rose as well, jumping from £26.5 billion in 2022 to £31.1 billion.
Moreover, even though the number of visitors is still below pre-pandemic levels, tourists who came to Britain ended up spending more money compared to 2019.
However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s proposal for a ‘hotel tax’ might result in visitors paying an extra £12 per night in the coming days.
Treasury authorities are known to have conducted ‘modeling simulations’ to assess the effects of implementing a comparable tax rate as the one used in France.
Over the Channel, the cost for overnight stays varies from under one pound per person each night at a campground to over twelve pounds in a five-star hotel.
Various councils such as those in Manchester, Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole have already implemented what is known as a visitor fee, which hotels may include on customer invoices.
A report from April of the previous year calculated that the fee generated £2.8 million for Manchester during its initial year.
Chancellor’s plan for an extensive strategy nationwide has faced strong resistance from global brands like Burberry and Watches of Switzerland, which sells Rolex, along with Heathrow and hotel magnate Sir Rocco Forte.
The London-based organization BusinessLDN similarly urged Labour to focus on implementing ‘growth-promoting’ strategies.
However, according to computations made by the economic advocacy group TaxPayers’ Alliance, implementing a £1.25 fee per night would generate approximately £560 million annually.
York, which was slightly ahead of Crawley on the list with approximately nine million visitors within a year, has readily embraced the concept of a tourism tax for the city to aid in maintaining attractions like the Roman walls and the Shambles shopping district.
In 2023, out of the top ten nations whose citizens visited the UK most often, seven were from the European Union.
The three countries outside the EU were the United States, Australia, and Canada.
In 2023, as was the case in 2022, the United States led the chart for international tourists, welcoming 5.1 million visitors.
The United States was trailed by France (3.2 million), Germany (3 million), and Ireland (2.9 million).
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