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A record number of international tourists visited the UK in April, according to figures released today by the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey.
The UK hosted 3.14 million visits in April, 6% more than the same month last year, and for the first four months of the year visits hit a new record – exceeding 10 million between January and April for the very first time.
Meanwhile, after a three-month decline in spend, there was a 1% increase in tourism spend to £1.5bn across Britain.
April was a strong month for all types of visit, with business, holiday and visits to friends and relatives seeing growth of 8%, 6% and 4% respectively.
Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain, said: “In a highly competitive tourism environment, it’s very promising to see a considerable return to growth as we approach the peak summer months.
“We expect 2015 and 2016 to be more challenging for inbound tourism as the euro weakens making it even more important to get our value message across to potential European visitors. We also need to act to safeguard our long haul markets such as the US and China who see European pricing as particularly attractive this summer.”
