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Inbound tourism and spend in the UK broke new records in November, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
There were 3.1 million inbound visits to the UK in November 2016, up 17% on the same month in 2015, with overseas visitors spending £1.7bn – an increase of 14%.
Overall, from January to November 2016, the UK saw 34.5 million visits, up 3% on the same period in 2015 with visitor spend increasing 1% to £20.4bn.
Strong growth was seen during the month from North America (Canada and the US) with 300,000 visits, up 28% compared with November 2015. It brings total visits from North America for January to November 2016 to 4 million, a 6% increase on 2015.
There were 23.3 million visits from the EU for January to November 2016, up 4% on the same period in 2015.
Tourism Minister Tracey Crouch said: “I am particularly pleased that there are an increasing number of visits from important markets like the US, with tourism making a significant contribution to our economy.
“We are committed to helping the sector grow even further, so the benefits are spread far and wide across the country.”
VisitBritain’s forecast for 2017 shows that overall inbound tourism growth is set to continue with 38.1 million visits, up 4% on 2016 which is likely to see about 36.7 million visits by year-end.
Spending by overseas visitors is predicted to reach £24.1bn in 2017, an 8% increase on spending last year which is expected to top out at £22.3bn.
