£17.1bn
£X.Xbn
25,885
1,980
£X.Xbn
For many people, holidays are the highlight of the year, but they still hold their status as a luxury. As a result, the economic climate in the UK has a significant effect on tour bookings. Customers tend to cut back on spending on holidays when their finances are constrained. All the same, travel has remained resilient to cost-of-living pressures as Brits prioritise a holiday over all other discretionary spending. Value-for-money tours and packages have risen in popularity as travellers look for the best deal to keep the cost of their must-not-miss holidays down.
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 3.7 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated £17.1bn in 2024.
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Company | Market Share (%)
2025 | Revenue (£m)
2025 |
---|---|---|
Jet2 plc | 4,012.5 | |
TUI Travel Ltd | 3,284.1 | |
Virgin Holidays Ltd | 497.5 |
To view the market share and analysis for all 4 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Tours for UK residents to the rest of the world, Tours for UK residents to Europe and Domestic tours for overseas visitors. Tours for UK residents to the rest of the world is the largest segment of the Tour Operators in the UK.
Domestic tours for UK residents remain at the top of the market
Companies in the industry arrange, assemble and conduct tours in the UK and in other countries around the world. These tours can be sold directly by the operators or via travel agencies. Tours may include a combination of transportation, accommodation, food and visits to events or locations.
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SIC 79.12 - Tour Operators in the UK
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
The desire to travel abroad stays strong. Tour operators are seeing their bookings climb as consumers keep holidays at the top of their list of priorities after COVID-19.
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
Domestic tours prove popular among UK residents. UK country breaks spiked in popularity during COVID-19, with companies trying to capture more of this growing market by offer...
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
London is the centre of UK tourism. The capital attracts way more international tourists than any other UK city and is home to many of the country’s most visited tourist attr...
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
Tour operators compete on price. More companies have crept int the market as travel bookings have risen, leading to intense price competition.
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
TUI offers a wide range of package holidays. The company continues to expand its property types to appeal to a range of consumers and has added extra flexibility to holiday p...
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
Outbound tourism continues to climb. Staying on the path to recovery from COVID-19, growing outbound tourism indicates that the market for tour operators is expanding.
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
COVID-19 pushes down profit. A slowdown in bookings during times of domestic and international travel restrictions and forced refunds for holidays cancelled because of lockdo...
Including values and annual change:
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Key data sources in the UK include:
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
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IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
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The market size of the Tour Operators in the UK industry in United Kingdom is £17.1bn in 2024.
There are 1,980 businesses in the Tour Operators in the UK industry in United Kingdom, which has declined at a CAGR of 1.1 % between 2019 and 2024.
The market size of the Tour Operators in the UK industry in United Kingdom has been declining at a CAGR of 3.7 % between 2019 and 2024.
Over the next five years, the Tour Operators in the UK industry in United Kingdom is expected to grow.
The biggest companies operating in the Tour Operators market in United Kingdom are Jet2 plc, TUI Travel Ltd and Virgin Holidays Ltd
Domestic tours and Tours to Europe are part of the Tour Operators in the UK industry.
The company holding the most market share in United Kingdom is Jet2 plc.
The level of competition is high and increasing in the Tour Operators in the UK industry in United Kingdom.