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- 🏠 Inbound tourism trends from VisitBritain
🏠 Inbound tourism trends from VisitBritain
And the STR Index shows strong growth
Phil Jackson
March 08, 2025
Welcome to this weeks newsletter. A nice compact issue for you this week but still full of valuable updates and insights.
Your key takeaways for this week:
📈 STR Index Rises: Index jumped to 62 in January, driven by stronger daily rates and longer stays compared to the same time last year.
✈️ UK Tourism Boom: VisitBritain forecasts 43.4M international visits and £33.7B spending for 2025, with US visitors leading.
🏠 EPC Consultation Extended: Government extends EPC regulation consultation to the 2nd of May. Owners are urged to complete the survey.
💰 Tax Relief Deadline: FHL tax regime ends April 2025. Limited time remains to claim capital allowances on past expenditure.
🎬 New Tourism Opportunities: Long-haul markets growing faster than European. "Starring GREAT Britain" campaign leverages film locations to attract visitors.
See you next Saturday at 5pm?
Phil
Founder, My Holiday Guide
IN THE NEWS
STR Index Sees Positive Improvement
At the end of January the STR Index had a healthy jump, ending the month at 62.
The increase is being driven by strong average daily rates and length of stays compared to the same time last year.
Want to learn more about how the index is calculated? View our LinkedIn post below.
Inbound Tourism Predictions from VisitBritain
Based on VisitBritain's latest inbound tourism forecast, there is anticipating growth in both the number of international visitors and their spending in 2025, hopefully presenting potential opportunities for short-term rental owners across the UK.
Here are some of the highlights from the report:
⬆️ International visits and spending are set to rise in 2025. We're expecting 43.4 million visits (up 5%) and £33.7 billion in spending (up 7%).
🇺🇸 The US market remains the biggest, with spending by Americans predicted to jump 9% to a record £6.7 billion.
🇪🇺 European market growth is generally positive. While some countries might vary, overall visits and spending from Europe are predicted to increase.
🌏 East Asia is recovering, with China forecast to be our fifth most valuable market, spending around £1.6 billion.
🎬 The "Starring GREAT Britain" campaign aims to boost tourism in different UK regions by showcasing film and TV locations.
📺 Over 90% of potential visitors fancy seeing film and TV locations.
🇪🇺 Competition is stiff from Europe. Keep your properties and prices competitive.
⚠️ There are potential risks that could affect these forecasts, so stay aware of economic and other factors.
✈️ Long-haul market growth (7%) is expected to outpace Europe (4%) in 2025.
EPC Update
In our newsletter on the 22nd February we provided a summary of the proposed changes and implications of the EPC regulations on short term rental owners. The changes are being covered in the press as they also impact long-term rental landlords.
The Government has extended the consultation period so if you haven’t done so already, you are encouraged to complete the survey before it closes on the 2nd May.
PASC have previously held a webinar providing some detail on how to complete the consultation which you can watch.
FEATURED RESOURCE
Highlighting useful tools and resources for your holiday let.
Capital Allowances Check From Zeal
As we are all aware, starting this April, the Government will abolish the FHL tax regime which will also remove the capital allowances tax relief.
Zeal are experts in capital allowances and have worked with many STR owners in assessing and claiming tax relief.
It's estimated that 80% of owners haven't claimed this relief, and you could still claim on historical expenditure, but time is running out. Tax allowances identified before the deadline can continue to be claimed afterwards.
Zeal have created a resources hub that you can sign-up for for free. Their hub includes :
Access to their comprehensive ebook
Guide to claiming capital allowances
Details on how to hold a holiday let in a limited company
Any much more…
You can also arrange a free consultation via the link below.
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PROPERTIES OF THE NEWSLETTER
We all love looking at and getting inspiration from other properties so here’s our top pick for this edition.
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