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July was the highest month ever for inbound tourism to the UK with 3.8 million visits, up 2% when compared with the same month last year.
That’s according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which also found overseas visitors spent £2.5bn in july – a 4% rise when compared with July 2015.
It was also a record-breaking month for inbound visitors from EU countries – the UK’s largest visit-generating region – with a 3% increase on last year to 2.3 million visits.
There was strong growth from North America, which includes the UK’s most valuable visitor market, the US, as visits grew 5% to 580,000. Meanwhile visits from the ‘rest of the world’ were up 6% to 790,000.
The figures, released today, bring inbound visits for the year so far to 21.1 million – up 2% on the same period last year and a record year-to-date. Spending during this period was £11.7bn.
Tracey Crouch, tourism minister, said: “Britain is a world-class visitor destination with our stunning countryside, historic buildings and vibrant culture scene attracting a record number of visits from around the globe.
“Tourism makes an enormous contribution to our economy and we will continue to support the industry to ensure it thrives and that growth in the sector benefits the whole country.”
The figures follow on from a record-breaking 2015 for visits and spend in Britain, with 36.1 million visits – 5% up on 2014 – and spending up 1% to £22.1bn.
