Source: Hospitality On

A Brexit without an amicable divorce agreement would have serious economic consequences for the country, according to a report published by the British government and the Bank of England. British GDP would lose nearly 10 points over 15 years and AP economists estimate that the annual standard of living would be reduced by £1,100 per capita. Finally, the British central bank added that the pound could fall by a quarter of its value against the dollar leading to the UK's worst recession since World War II.

With almost 120 million nights spent in tourist accommodations in the EU 28 outside their country, the British are one of the heavyweights of the tourism economy and in 2016 Great Britain ranked fourth largest source market in Europe.

If the British economy were to fail, hoteliers would be among the first to suffer a drop in the number of visitors from this source market, on which some destinations have become very dependent.

In Malta, for example, more than 2.8 million overnight stays were accounted for in 2016 by customers from the United Kingdom, well ahead of those from Italy and Germany. The flight connections between Malta airport and London Gatwick (1st), Manchester (7th) and London Heathrow (8th) airports are among the busiest and reflect the strong impact on the island's entire tourism value chain that a Brexit without a divorce agreement could have.

Read the full article at Hospitality ON