Spain is the UK’s number one destination

Spain has pipped France to the title of the most-visited country in the world – at least for British tourists. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday that the number of trips to Spain in 2002 increased by 6.2% to 12.5 million, while visits to France increased by just 1.3% to 12.1 million. In terms of money spent by tourists, Spain is way ahead. It took more than £5 billion from British tourists, who stayed in the country for 11 nights on average. By contrast, the average visit to France lasted just five nights and the corresponding “spend” was £3.6 billion. The Irish Republic overtook the USA as the third most popular destination as visits to the States continued to decrease. Visits to the USA fell by 9.7% in 2002. Meanwhile there was a slight (0.9%) increase in visitor numbers to the UK from the US, but still 12% down on the peak of 4.1million in 2000. However USA residents continued to make the greatest number of visits to the UK (3.6 million) and spent the most (£2.4 billion) compared with residents of any other country. In all, Britons made more than 59 million overseas visits last year, spending a record £27 billion on their travels. For more information visit www.statistics.gov.uk