February visitor numbers to the UK were the strongest since the global financial crisis began in 2008.
According to data released by VisitBritain this week, there was a 14% rise in the number of overseas visitors and a 9% increase in spend.
The tourism agency said it was the first time February has generated more than £1 billion from international visits and was particularly encouraging given that 2012 was a leap year.
IPS figures show holiday visits up 10%, business travel rising by 15% and those visiting friends and relatives up 19%.
Of the 1.97 million overseas visitors in February, those arriving from the high volume EU15 markets were up 22%, while visits from non-EU Europe countries saw a 12% rise.
‘Rest of World’ markets – which includes Australia, Brazil, China and India – were also up 6%.
"These are an encouraging set of figures and show sustained growth in the number of inbound visitors and more importantly in the amount they are spending in Britain," said VisitBritain CEO Sandie Dawe.
VisitBritain is forecasting overall inbound growth of 3% this year, with one million additional visitors helping generate an extra £0.5 billion in spend.
