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Christmas in the UK is set to be an increasingly popular option for overseas visitors, according to the latest hotel search data compiled by the Expedia group.
The parent company of several online travel agents analysed searches from 1 September to 31 October 2015 for stays in UK hotels during December 2015 and found that European travellers from Italy, Spain, Germany, and Belgium lead the way.
Travellers from these countries recorded triple-digit growth in the number of searches for UK hotels compared with the same period last year, with the largest increase coming from Italy (up 250%) and Spain (up by almost 200%).
Meanwhile, searches from American tourists more than doubled, while the firm said Hong Kong and Singapore tourists have also markedly increased their browsing activity.
Expedia said data from the Christmas period last year shows that overseas travellers stayed longer, booked further in advance and paid more compared to their UK counterparts.
On average, visitors from the USA, for example, paid £139 for their room, booked over 33 days out and stayed for more than two days, which compares favourably with UK guests who paid an average of £92, booked 27 days out and stayed for just over one day.
Visitors from Italy booked over 48 days out, stayed for three days and paid £122 on average, while the booking window for Spanish travellers was just over 35 days with a stay of nearly three days at a rate of £108 per room.
London and Edinburgh remain the top two most popular search destinations for overseas travellers, with both capital cities recording an increase in the number of people looking to book hotels during the period of 22% and 44% respectively.
Elsewhere, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow were also among the top 10 popular searches.
