Day trips to Wales by GB visitors

Revised estimates for 2022 and 2023 have now been published. For more information on the revisions, please see the statement on the methodological review.

Wales trips

• In 2022, Great Britain (GB) residents took 178.69 million leisure day trips lasting 3 hours or more in Wales with £5.37 billion spent during these trips.
• 34% of leisure day trips taken in Wales were tourism day trips, with 61.62 million trips taken in 2022, with an associated spend of £2.30 billion.
• In 2023, GB residents took 169.60 million leisure day trips lasting 3 hours or more in Wales with £5.50 billion spent during these trips.
• 36% of leisure day trips taken in Wales were tourism day trips with 60.90 million tourism day trips taken in 2023, with an associated spend of £2.49 billion.
• Approximately 6% of GB leisure day visits of 3 hours or more included a visit in Wales, both in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, the share of GB tourism day trips which included a visit in Wales was 6%, declining slightly in 2023 to 5%.
• In 2022, approximately 6% of expenditure on GB leisure day visits of 3 hours or more was spent in Wales, decreasing slightly to 5% in 2023. The share of total GB spend on tourism day trips in Wales remained stable across 2022 and 2023, at 5%.
• Compared to 2022, the volume of leisure day trips of 3 hours or more taken in Wales in 2023 was 5% lower, whilst the volume of tourism day trips taken was 1% lower.
• In 2022, the average expenditure on leisure day trips of 3 hours or more was £30 compared to £37 for tourism day trips taken in Wales; average expenditure was higher in 2023, at £32 for leisure day trips of 3 hours or more, and £41 for tourism day trips.

Read our report for further information on trips taken to Wales in 2023 and 2022.

Statistics on day visitors are obtained from the Great Britain Day Visits Survey. This is a weekly online survey of around 35,000 GB residents each year. The survey is managed jointly by Visit Wales, VisitEngland and VisitScotland. Please read our Background Quality Reports for full details of the survey method and quality assurance measures.