UK-US market on track to exceed pre-Covid levels

The outgoing head of the UK's tourism marketing organisation has projected that the UK market to the US will return to pre-pandemic levels by 2025.

Speaking at the IPW conference in Los Angeles, Brand USA's chief executive, Chris Thompson, expressed confidence that ongoing challenges could be overcome. He noted that UK-US airlift is expected to surpass 2019 capacity by 2023.

Recent data released in April indicates that the UK market is currently performing ahead of projections for 2023, albeit still 9.5% below March 2019 levels. However, a full recovery is anticipated by 2025.

Despite the challenges, the UK remains the top overseas destination to the US, trailing only Canada and Mexico. Currently, there are 248 flights from the UK connecting to 31 destinations across the US.