Official visitor figures released today by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) claim that overseas tourists appear to have been undeterred by the London bombings in July.
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London, a mecca for Australian and New Zealand visitors and in particular young working holidaymakers received over 3.25 million foreign tourists in August, which is slightly more than the same month last year, when about 3.16 million foreign visitors travelled to Britain. They also spent £1.66 billion during visits in August 2005.
The ONS also reported that visitors from North America rose from 461,000 to 530,000 during the same period and that about 20 million foreign tourists visited the country in the first eight months of the year, which was a 10 per cent increase on the same period.
Visit London, the tourism organisation responsible for marketing London, also claimed that the 25% decrease in people visiting London’s attractions in August was due to fewer British people visiting the capital, rather than a reduction in overseas visitors.
