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The number of international visits to the UK has continued to set new records according to new figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
There were almost 3.4 million international visits in October this year, a 12% increase compared with the same month last year, the ONS said.
Overall, in the 10 months of the year to date, the number of overseas visits was 30.5 million – a 4% increase compared with the same period in 2014, indicating the year is on track to be another record-breaker for international tourism.
Meanwhile, overseas visitors also spent 9% more in October than they did in the same month last year, spending almost £2bn and setting a new record for the month. Spending by visitors for the first 10 months of the year stood at £18.4bn.
Breaking down the visits into categories of ‘journey purpose’ as defined by the ONS, there was a 7% increase in holiday visits compared with October last year, a 14% increase in those visiting friends and relatives and a 2% increase in business visits.
There was also a huge 74% increase in ‘miscellaneous’ visits, another record for the month.
Patricia Yates, director of VisitBritain, said: “It’s really encouraging to see the increases in visits and spend for October particularly coming on the back of the Rugby World Cup (RWC).
“We’re working hard to drive tourism across all our nations and regions and with almost half a million international visitors having attended RWC matches and events across 11 host cities, including places which wouldn’t necessarily be on the immediate radar for many overseas visitors, we can be confident that the economic benefits from October’s record results are being felt across many of our regions.”
