Iuliia ToreFigures released today show that July was the highest month ever for inbound tourism to the UK since official records began in 1961.
There were a record four million overseas visits to the UK in July, the first month to ever break through the four million mark, and up 6 per cent on the same month last year. Overseas visitors spent £2.8 billion in the UK, the best month for spend on record.
Strong growth in visits from North America continued in July with a record 650,000 visits, up 9% on last year.
Today’s Office for National Statistics figures have brought the total number of overseas visits to the UK from January to July this year to 23.1 million, up 8% on the same period last year and a record year–to-date. Spending by visitors during this period hit a record £13.3 billion, up 9% on the same period last year.
There were 2.9 million overseas visits from North America from January to July, up 21% on the same period last year. There were 15.1 million overseas visits from EU countries, the UK’s largest visitor-generating region, 4% up on last year.
Visits from the ‘Rest of the World’, which includes Australia, China, the Gulf markets and India, were up to a record 3.6 million from January to July this year, up 18% on the same period last year.
Last year set a record for inbound tourism to Britain on visits and spend with 37.6 million visits, up 4% on 2015 with visitors spending £22.5 billion, up 2%. Tourism is worth £127 billion annually to the UK economy, creating jobs and boosting economic growth across its nations and regions.
