Overseas visitor numbers set to top 1.5 million at Bristol Airport

Bristol Airport is on track to handle more than 1.5 million journeys by passengers from overseas, according to analysis of data from the Civil Aviation Authority’s annual Passenger Survey.

The biggest market for visitors remains Ireland, accounting for just under 19 per cent of overseas passengers flying in and out of Bristol Airport. Spain (16 per cent) is second followed by France (15 per cent), with Germany, the US, Portugal and the Netherlands also generating significant passenger volumes.

Figures from research commissioned by Destination Bristol and Visit Bath put the value of the region’s visitor economy at an estimated £2.3 billion a year and highlighted record spend by overseas visitors in 2018.

Plans to increase Bristol Airport’s capacity to 12 million passengers a year would boost its contribution to the region’s visitor economy to an estimated £380 million by the mid-2020s, supporting nearly 7,000 jobs.

Dave Lees, Chief Executive Officer at Bristol Airport, said:

“Tourism is a vital part of our economy in the South West so it is important that we make the region easily accessible from all over the world. By growing our route network and investing in passenger facilities we are making Bristol Airport an even more attractive gateway for overseas visitors.”