March proved to be a better than expected month for tourist numbers visiting the UK, according to industry body UKinbound.
The numbers of foreign visitors to the UK rose by 5.2% over March 2006, while forward bookings were “holding steady” with a 2.1% rise.
Virtually all the growth came from nearby countries and predominatly EU states helped by the strength of the euro with the emphasis remaining on low cost, short-stay city breaks, UKinbound said.
With the strength of sterling against the dollar combining with fragile US consumer confidence, the organisation predicts that business over the summer to be “challenging”.
by Phil Davies
