Discover the value of the Purple Pound
What is the Purple Pound?
The purple pound is the term for the spending power of disabled people.
Total spend
Total spend
- Total expenditure on tourism trips in England by those with an impairment or those travelling within a group where a member has an impairment is estimated to be £14.6 billion annually.
- Inbound visitor spending in England by this group was £0.5 billion in 2018.
- Domestic overnight visitor spending in England by this group of Great Britain residents was £6.7 billion in 12 months to June 2023.
- Tourism day visit spending in England by this group of Great Britain residents was £7.4 billion in 12 months to June 2023.
Contribution to tourism
Contribution to tourism: number of trips
Trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions:
- 2% of all inbound trips to England in 2018.
- 24% of domestic overnight trips in England in 12 months to June 2023.
- 20% of tourism day visits in England in 12 months to June 2023.
Contribution to tourism: spending
Contribution to tourism: spending
The spend from trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions made up:
- 2.2% of all inbound trip spending in England in 2018.
- 24% of domestic overnight trip spending in England in 12 months to June 2023.
- 18% of day visit spending in England in 12 months to June 2023.
Average spend
Average spend
- The average spend per inbound visit to England was £660 for all trips, compared to £740 for trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions.
- The average spend per domestic overnight trip in England was £267 for all trips, compared to £264 for trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions.
Average length of stay
Average length of stay
- The average length of stay per inbound visit to England was 7.3 nights for all trips, compared to 11.6 nights for trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions.
- The average length of stay per domestic overnight trip in England was 2.9 nights for all trips, compared to 3.2 nights for trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions.
Age of traveller
Age of traveller
- Those 55+ made up 20% of all inbound visits, compared with 60% of trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions.
- Those aged 55+ made up 25% of all domestic overnight trips in England, compared with 30% of trips taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions.
- Those aged 55+ made up 34% of all tourism day visits, compared with 41% of tourism day visits taken by those with an impairment and their travelling companions.
Three main tourism surveys
About the research
The data presented on this page is taken from the following three surveys: Great Britain Day Visitor Survey (July 2022 to June 2023), Great Britain Tourism Survey (July 2022 to June 2023) and International Passenger Survey (2018).
All data for domestic overnight trips and tourism day visits relate to trips/visits taken in England by residents of Great Britain. Due to changes in survey methodology, this data cannot be directly compared with previous data.
These statistics are next due to be updated in August 2024.
