Top tips preparing for record visitors to the UK this year

After a rocky few years for the hospitality industry, Visit Britain’s latest forecast report provides some welcomed optimism for British hoteliers. The 2025 inbound tourism forecast shows a 5% increase in predicted visits to the UK this year – with a record 43.3 million tourists set to travel here.

As the tourism industry continues to grow, the UK government has unveiled ambitions to reach 50 million visitors by 2030. So, how can hotels best prepare for this influx of visitors?

Here we share our tips on how hoteliers can cater to the growing demand from overseas.

Visibility is key

With a large number of bookings potentially coming from overseas guests, it’s never been more important to ensure your hotel is visible for easy booking.

With Zonal’s specialist cloud-based software, hoteliers can manage direct bookings and 450 + OTAs to maximise reservations and boost profits, especially during peak seasons or special events. Rates can be adjusted based on demand and guest behaviour, to stay competitive and increase RevPAR.

Our fully customisable booking platform seamlessly integrates with your own hotel’s website and automates payments, making direct booking simple and easy for overseas guests.

Tailor your guest experience

Visit Britain forecasts a 46% increase in Chinese visitors to the UK this year compared to 2024, with spending set to increase by 77% to over £1.6 billion.

Tourism from the USA is also set to boom this year, with almost £1 in every £5 of inbound visitor spending in the UK predicted to come from US travellers.

To cater for these significant tourist markets, tailored communication is key to ensuring happy guests and repeat bookings. Through Zonal’s PMS, marketing communications can be hyper-personalised, allowing hoteliers to upsell hotel services, deals or events specifically catered towards different guest preferences and nationalities.

Think about your hotel’s unique selling points and how they can appeal to overseas guests, for example: Are you set in the quintessential British countryside? Serve traditional pub grub? Are you in the centre of an iconic multi-cultural city? Does your hotel hold historic significance? Why not double down on your hotel’s distinctive offering by providing offers, experiences or F&B packages that would entice guests looking to experience UK culture? Afternoon tea anyone?

Lights, Camera, Action

Visit Britain’s latest research has found that a whopping 90% of visitors to the UK would want to visit film and TV locations during a trip. From Harry Potter to Downton Abbey, many of the world’s most famous TV programmes and movies have been created in locations across the UK and the chances are, your hotel may be near one of them.

Hotels can tap into this niche through specialist offers and events. Think guided tours, themed F&B offerings, information leaflets or special talks at your hotel – hoteliers can maximise this love of TV and film by creating their very own cinematic magic for guests.

Optimise operations

Slick operations are essential for hotels and staff, especially during busier periods. With inbound tourism set to increase, hotels should look to optimise their operations to save time, cut costs and ensure a seamless guest experience.

With Zonal’s PMS, guests can easily check in and out of their rooms with digital room keys and automated payment processing, eliminating reception queues and saving time for your front-of-house staff. Housekeeping staff are also alerted when a room needs turning over, further boosting staff efficiency.

From the moment guests arrive in their room until they check out, their preferences and special requirements are tracked to provide a truly personalised experience across all areas of your hotel, even down to the emails they receive post-stay.

By streamlining your hotel’s processes, staff gain back the time to do what they do best, providing guests with excellent customer service.

To conclude

Things are looking up for the UK hotel industry, and with a record year for inbound tourism predicted, hoteliers need to ensure they are prepared to get ahead of the competition to reap the benefits.

By using intelligent software, hoteliers can optimise their operations and maximise their unique features to entice tourists from overseas and provide unforgettable British experiences, all while boosting profits.