The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published corrected travel and tourism estimates for 2024 on 4 September, replacing data affected by errors in the assignment of destination airport codes.
The correction changed annual headline estimates for visits, spending and nights by less than 3%. The release is the latest stage in addressing the problem: it provides corrected figures and accompanying methodological updates, rather than simply notifying users of the errors.
Incorrectly assigned international airport codes were responsible for the destination-airport errors. The affected figures covered parts of the third and fourth quarters of 2024, as well as the annual estimates for that year.
The less-than-3% figure relates specifically to the corrected annual headline measures of visits, spending and nights. It should not be read as a stated limit on changes to every detailed breakdown within the data.
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Methodology changes and next release
Alongside the airport-code correction, the ONS revised how package-holiday spending is processed and updated other elements of its methodology. The September release therefore combines corrected historical estimates with changes to the way the statistics are produced.
The newly corrected estimates concern 2024. For the following year’s data, the ONS said it intends to publish updated 2025 estimates in October 2026. That remains a planned publication, separate from the corrections released on 4 September.
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Sources
Improving our travel and tourism statistics: September 2026 update
