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International tourists are travelling to English regions in record numbers and they are spending more too, according to new figures released today.
Statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that in the first nine months of 2016 there were a record-breaking 12.2 million visits to English regions outside of London, up 4% compared with the same period in 2015.
Spend by international visitors across England’s regions also set a record during this period, up 2% to £5.9bn.
Wales saw inbound visits increase 12% from January to September last year to 856,000, with spending by over overseas visitors hitting a record high for the period at £367m – up 9%.
Overseas visitors spent £1.6bn in Scotland during the first nine months of last year, up 12% on 2015 and a record for the January to September period. Visits grew 4% to 2.2 million, the strongest year-to-date since 2007.
It was also a record-breaking summer for inbound tourism visits to the English regions with 4.9 million from July to September 2016, up 3% on the year before. Spend by overseas visitors during the summer Q3 period reached a record £2.9bn, up 11% on 2015.
Sally Balcombe, VisitBritain’s chief executive, said: “Inbound tourism is one of our largest export industries and it is very encouraging to see that growth is being spread right across our nations and regions, demonstrating the industry’s increasing importance as a driver of economic growth and jobs.
Overall inbound visits to the UK reached a record-breaking 28.1 million from January to September 2016, up 2% on the previous year.
