THE TELEGRAPH: The number of Britons taking foreign holidays slumped last year as a 40-year trend towards more overseas breaks comes to an end.
UK residents made 58.6 million visits overseas in 2009 - 15% fewer than in 2008, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Visits to the UK by overseas residents also fell in 2009, but at a slower rate, dipping 6.3% from 31.9 million in 2008 to 29.9 million last year.
The ONS said the falls followed a long period of overall growth in international visits to and from the UK.
Visits abroad had grown at an average of 4% per year over the past 25 years and visits to the UK grew at an annual rate of 3.2%.
The decline in 2009 follows small falls of less than 1% in visits abroad in 2007, the first since 1991, and a fall of 2.7% in visits abroad during 2008.
The ONS said it was business visits that were hit hardest in 2009. They fell by 23% among UK residents going abroad and by 19% among overseas residents coming to the UK. >>> | Tuesday, July 13, 2010