Inbound tourism to Britain is rising and visitors are spending almost as much as they did during the peak period of 2000, despite the strong pound, according to new statistics.
Figures from VisitBritain show 6.7 million international visits were made to Britain between September and November 2004, a 5 per cent increase on 2003.
Meanwhile, the year to date figures for January to November show international visitor spending is 9 per cent up on the same period in 2003 at £11.8 billion and only £1 billion behind 2000, the peak period before the impact of foot and mouth outbreaks and September 11.
VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright said: “This year has been remarkably strong for Britain’s revitalised tourism industry.
“Despite the challenging economic climate in North America, visits from this region are up 10 per cent on 2003 and, with increasing numbers of arrivals from Asia and new and emerging markets, the signs are encouraging that international visitor spending will soon exceed previous records.”
Wright said he anticipated that by the end of 2005, visitors to Britain will have contributed £12.7 billion to the economy, almost equalling the 2000 figure of £12.8 billion.
He added that Britain was targeting emerging destinations to boost inbound tourism. “VisitBritain continues to exploit the potential of new and emerging markets,” he said.
“This year will see significant marketing initiatives including trade relations and public relations programmes, as well as the development of new local-language websites for a number of countries such as the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Malaysia and Thailand.”
