By Marcus Crawley
August 19 – New figures released today by the national tourism agency revealed that more than 750,000 inbound visitors who came to Britain last year experienced a football game.
They spent a substantial £595 million ($983 million/€682 million) in the process, equivalent to £776 ($1,282/€889) per fan.
Visitors from Norway are most likely to come to watch Premier League football – one in 13 of their tourists go to a match – and the most popular grounds are Old Trafford, Anfield and the Emirates Stadium.
For the first time, research by VisitBritain demonstrates that Premier League football has mass international appeal and helps drive visits to the UK.
It was for this reason that VisitBritain joined forces with the Premier League in 2008 to help promote the home of football in key overseas tourism markets using links to Premier League players and clubs.
Earlier this year, VisitBritain launched a dedicated Premier League section on their website.
This contains exclusive interviews with key international Premier League players on what they most like about living in Britain, as well as recommendations on what visitors should see and do while in the country.
With matches broadcast live in 212 territories around the world, it is no surprise that clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are increasingly seeing their fan base becoming truly global.
Those taking in a match in Britain are not shy of spending their money either – figures show that the average spend per visit for football-loving overseas visitors is £776 ($1,282/€889), considerably higher than the average for all inbound visitors of £563 ($930/€645).
“Not only do some of the best players in the world want to play in Britain, but their international fans want to follow them here to savour the atmosphere of a match,” said the Director of Strategy and Communication at VisitBritain, Patricia Yates.
“It is no surprise our international visitors come here to cheer on their sporting heroes and visit our world class stadia across Britain – from Old Trafford to the Emirates and Anfield to Wembley.
“Our partnership with the Premier League has enabled us to use football to connect with fans all around the world.
“It has given us access to some of the stars of the British game who have promoted Britain to their fans back home – and encouraged them to come and visit.”
“We know that that the Premier League is the most watched football league in the world and we put a lot of effort into connecting with our international fans, whether that is reaching out to them with tournaments like the Barclays Asia Trophy or the Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour,” said the chief executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore.
“But nothing quite beats the excitement of match day, being inside a full Premier League ground and seeing a competitive match in the flesh, so it’s very encouraging to hear that so many international visitors want to experience football in this country.”
Around 40 per cent of those going to a football match said that watching sport was the main reason for visiting the UK.
The research also suggests that football works as a highly effective tool in enticing visitors to Britain at some of the quieter times of the year, with the greatest proportion of inbound visitors going to a football match between January and March.
Holiday visitors from Norway have the highest propensity to include ‘going to a football match’ – one in 13 – followed by visits from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Among visitors who come to Britain to visit friends and family, it is those from Japan, China and Australia that are most likely to include going to a football match, with Norwegian business visitors once again topping the charts.
In terms of volume, the market with the largest number of visits is Ireland, accounting for 164,000 of the total 767,000 visits that include football among the activities.
Norway (77,000) is in second spot, followed by the United States (56,000), the Netherlands (41,000) and Germany (39,000).
The most popular venues for watching football were in the North West of England and in London, with 15 per cent of all inbound visitors who said they had gone to a football match having done so at Old Trafford, the home of the current Premier League champions Manchester United.
The top five most visited grounds by overseas fans were: Old Trafford with 114,000, Anfield 89,000, Emirates Stadium 88,000, Stamford Bridge 54,000 and White Hart Lane 38,000.
Figures also show that 23,000 fans had visited Wembley Stadium, which was sixth on the list.
VisitBritain continues to build on the strong relationship it has with the Premier League.
Following an initial two-year partnership, an agreement with the Premier League was extended in 2010 for another three years to help position Britain as a welcoming destination for football fans from around the world.
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