VisitBritain is forecasting 45.5 million inbound visits to the UK in 2026. That's up 4% on 2025. Total spend is expected to reach £35.7 billion, up 7%.
Even better: long-haul markets are expected to grow faster than European markets.
This is a significant opportunity for UK hotels, but only if we're positioned to capture it.
Why long-haul matters
Long-haul travellers typically stay longer, spend more, and book further in advance. They're high-value customers.
But they're also researching and booking differently.
Agoda has risen to fourth place in the UK channel mix, driven almost entirely by Asian inbound travel. If you're not visible on Agoda, you're invisible to a fast-growing segment.
B2B wholesalers like G2 Travel and TBOHolidays are gaining share, particularly for group and tour business from international markets.
And with 26% of travellers now starting their research on OTAs, your global distribution strategy isn't just about Booking.com and Expedia anymore. It's about being where your target markets are looking.
The question every UK hotel should be asking
Are we set up to capture our fair share of that £35.7 billion?
That means:
Strong presence on the right OTAs for your target markets. Not just the big two. Agoda for Asia. Ctrip and Trip.com for China. The channels where your potential guests are actually booking.
Multilingual content and localised marketing. Your website in English isn't reaching the Japanese traveller or the Brazilian family planning their UK trip. Even basic translation signals that you welcome international guests.
Pricing strategies that reflect long-haul booking windows. These guests book earlier. Your revenue management should reward that. Early-bird rates, flexible deposits, booking incentives that match how these markets actually shop.
Partnerships with B2B players who can deliver group and tour business. Wholesalers and tour operators aren't glamorous, but they fill rooms consistently. Particularly midweek and in shoulder seasons.
The distribution shift is real
The days when "international distribution" meant having a Booking.com listing are over. The market has fragmented. Different source markets use different channels, different devices, different booking behaviours.
A Chinese traveller books differently from a German traveller. An American luxury leisure guest books differently from a Brazilian family. If your distribution strategy treats them all the same, you're optimising for no one.
For boutique independents
This is actually an opportunity. Chains struggle to localise at property level. Their content is standardised, their approach is global-but-generic.
A boutique property can tell a story that resonates with specific source markets. The history, the locality, the experience. That's what international travellers are seeking. Not another identikit hotel room.
The inbound opportunity is real. 45.5 million visitors. £35.7 billion in spend. The hotels that win will be the ones who invest in global distribution and marketing now, not the ones who wait to see how it plays out.
What's your fair share? And what would it take to capture it?
Elliott Wakefield is a commercial consultant specialising in independent boutique hotels.
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