Summer SMEs missing out on £1.5bn boost due to poor connectivity

25th August 2025 – New research from VodafoneThree has revealed SMEs (Small & Medium Sized Enterprises) powering the UK’s tourism industry are missing out on more than £1.5bn of potential earnings due to poor connectivity.

Almost three-quarters (74%) of tourism-related SMEs, which includes hotels, restaurants and gift shops, reported a financial boost this summer as more Brits chose to holiday closer to home. However, a fifth (19%) believe poor connectivity prevented them from fully capitalising on this.

Of those surveyed, one-in-three (32%) felt enhanced connectivity would help them grow their ecommerce, from improving online shopping options to adding services like click-and-collect. Four-in-ten (40%) would enhance their WiFi, making it easier for their customers to stay connected, while a third would explore AI tools for customer support. This could include virtual help to answer questions faster and automated responses to common enquiries.

Social media topped the SME wish list with 42% wanting to use it more if they had better connectivity. Tracey Toulmin, who runs Bryn Woodlands House in Colwyn Bay, North Wales uses Instagram and Facebook to promote her guesthouse and the local area:

“As a small business, social media has been key to getting our name out there, we’ve had people join in when we go ‘live’ from across the UK, America, even Australia! Posting daily about our guesthouse while we are out and about in our local area has boosted engagement and bookings, with guests discovering us through social media. Good mobile connectivity isn’t just nice to have – it’s what turns posts into bookings and followers into guests.”

The £1.5bn potential revenue boost would be felt across 50 UK staycation hotspots*, including Brighton, Tenby and Whitby if connectivity improved. Retailers serving the tourist industry could increase their annual revenue by £900m, while food and drink SMEs could pocket £400m thanks to better connectivity.

The new research comes as VodafoneThree begins expanding network access across the UK using innovative ‘Multi-Operator Core Network’ (MOCN) technology, allowing Vodafone and Three customers to use each other’s networks, at no extra cost. Where activated, customer devices will automatically connect to the best coverage available - whether that’s on the Vodafone or Three network. This effectively gives customers access to two networks, delivering improved coverage, reliability, and speed when using 4G and 5G.

Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer at VodafoneThree, said: “We know that tourism plays a critical role in boosting local economies across the UK, with improved connectivity accelerating their growth to the tune of £1.5bn a year.

“That’s why VodafoneThree is investing £11 billion to build a network that provides reliable, quality connectivity to all corners of the UK. Our initial sites have been carefully selected to deliver the greatest benefit to customers, particularly in rural and coastal areas where demand surges during the summer months.

“This means smoother streaming and quicker downloads for consumers, as well as equal access to digital tools to boost productivity and growth for local businesses.”

Sussex tourist hotspots a ‘shore’ bet with better connectivity

The Sussex coast stands to gain the most from better connectivity, with four seaside towns leading the list. Worthing tops the rankings, where each tourism SME could unlock up to £200,000 a year, followed by Brighton at £171,000, and Eastbourne and Hastings at around £127,000 each. These figures reflect the high number of seasonal businesses and strong visitor numbers in these areas, combined with survey data on the extra revenue SMEs believe they could generate with improved connectivity.

The rise of remote work during holidays is also seen as a factor in the growing demand for connectivity. Nearly half of high street food and drink venues (42%) and hotels (48%) saw more guests working remotely, and 73% say customer WiFi is their top digital essential.

VodafoneThree coming together

VodafoneThree is transforming connectivity for millions in the UK. All customers of VodafoneThree brands (Vodafone, Three, SMARTY, VOXI, and Talkmobile) will see benefits within 12 months, including:

Peak period improvements: Summer holidays and UK staycations bring a surge of visitors to popular destinations, such as coastal towns, tourist attractions and countryside retreats. This places extra demand on the mobile network, as sites can be flooded with more customers than they can provide a good quality service to. Thanks to MOCN technology, customers will be moved from a busy network to one that is able to provide the required level of service.

Eliminating 4G not spots: By providing 4G coverage to 16,500km of the UK where it wasn’t previously available to either Vodafone or Three customers, VodafoneThree will eliminate not spots across an area ten times the size of London. This means fewer not spots in rural, coastal, and countryside destinations, helping tourists stay connected while exploring the UK.

Enhanced 5G coverage: Around 71% of the UK population (circa 50 million) will have access to VodafoneThree’s fastest 5G speeds by the end of year one, thanks to bringing the networks together and an accelerated 5G roll out plan. This means better connectivity in more places, including rural and coastal locations, so whether they’re exploring somewhere new or streaming their favourite content on the move, customers will enjoy a smoother, more reliable experience.

The company has already switched on over 600 sites across the UK, representing the next stage of VodafoneThree’s £11 billion investment programme, with 9,000 sites to follow by the end of the first year.

Notes to Editors

*The top 50 resort locations were informed using ONS data in the UK and the Northern Ireland Government tourism website.

Where connectivity could make the biggest impact (Top 20)

Methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide among 1,000 senior decision-makers (aged 18+) in SMEs with 1–250 employees. All businesses surveyed operate in sectors affected by seasonal tourism, including:

Accommodation (hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, self-catering, caravan and holiday parks)

Entertainment and leisure (cinemas, escape rooms, bowling alleys, museums, zoos)

Food and beverage (cafés, restaurants, ice cream vans, coffee trucks, fast food outlets, pubs and bars)

Retail (gift shops, local craft shops)

Seasonal events and pop-ups

Tourism activities (boat tours, wildlife experiences, hiking, biking)

Transport (taxis, bus operators, cycle hire, ferries)

At least 50 respondents were included per region (except North East England, Northern Ireland and Wales), with a maximum of 50 in London. Fieldwork took place between 22 July and 1 August 2025. Censuswide complies with the Market Research Society Code of Conduct and is a member of the British Polling Council.

These localised figures were then matched to the 50 resort locations in the study to estimate the number of tourism-related businesses and their average revenues. The top 50 resort locations were informed using ONS data in the UK and the Northern Ireland Government tourism website.

How the economic modelling works

To estimate the potential revenue uplift from better connectivity, survey responses were combined with official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). This included:

Average annual revenues for businesses in visitor economy sectors (accommodation, food and drink, leisure, retail, and transport).

Business counts and employment data for 48 UK resort locations.

To calculate the potential revenue uplift for each town, researchers combined survey responses with local economic data from official sources. Because national datasets don’t always align perfectly with town boundaries, the closest available geographic areas were used:

England and Wales: Mid-level Super Output Areas (MSOAs)

Scotland: Intermediate Zones

Northern Ireland: District Electoral Areas (DEAs)

Survey questions on revenue impact (e.g., Q1, Q6, Q8 - outlined below) were combined with these datasets to calculate:

The potential impact of improved connectivity on tourism businesses in resorts

The effect on revenues from poor connectivity

Survey questions used

Q1: In an average year, how much of your income is generated during the following timeframes? (1) July-August; (2) April, May, and September

Q6: To what extent, if at all, would enhanced connectivity (mobile data and/or broadband) increase your income from June to August?

Q8: How much do you expect poor connectivity to cost you from June to August (as a percentage of your annual business revenue?)