London has been picked by US visitors as their top overseas destination ahead of Paris and Rome.
One-in-three (34%) overseas visits by US tourists in the past 12 months were to the UK capital, according to data released by online firm Hotels.com.
The data shows that the terrorist attacks on July 7 have not deterred US visits as numbers have held up well since the London bombings.
London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona dominate US tourists’ choices of destination accounting for 70% of all trips overseas – with one-in-five visitors going to Paris and one-in-ten going to Rome.
A Hotels.com spokeswoman said: “London remains head and shoulders above mainland Europe in attracting the highest number of American visitors, continuing to prove its attraction to foreigners. Even the terrible events in July haven’t knocked London off the top spot, which is extremely encouraging.
“However, what this research really shows is how far Europeans have to go in attracting US visitors. With seven-in-ten visits going to just four cities, there is far more that European countries could be doing to bring American tourists to their doors.”
*Top 10 overseas destinations for US visitors over the last 12 months:
1) London (34%)
2) Paris (18%)
3) Rome (10%)
4) Bacelona (8%)
5) Madrid (7%)
6) Amsterdam (5%)
7) Nice (5%)
8) Berlin (4%)
9) Florence (4%)
10) Venice (4%)
Report by Phil Davies
