At the same time, 2026 will see an all-time high in numbers of foreign visitors to the UK. This will all be a welcome relief for the hard-pressed hospitality industry and it is particularly important in the countryside, where tourism provides many of the jobs that have been lost in agriculture. Its growth up to 2030 is likely to outpace the wider economy and international visitors will spend an additional £9.4 billion compared with 2024. It is only by taking tourism more seriously as a key industry that the benefits can be spread and the inevitable pressures reduced. Ancient market towns and beguiling villages should engender respect from visitors, not what is too often something akin to invasion.