Record 39 million overseas visitors are expected to visit this country next year

VISITBRITAIN HAS predicted that next year will be a record year for tourists spending and visiting the UK.

The national tourism agency says spending by overseas visitors is expected to reach a record £26.6bn in 2020, a 6.6 per cent increase on spending in 2019 which is expected to top out at £25bn. The number of overseas visits to the UK is forecast to rise in 2020 to 39.7 million, the highest ever, and up 2.9 per cent on 2019 which is expected to see about 38.5 million visits by year end.

Looking longer-term, during the last decade inbound, tourism visits to the UK have grown 33 per cent when comparing 2010 to the 2020 forecast and spending by 58 per cent.

VisitBritain Director Patricia Yates said: “Tourism is one of the UK’s most valuable export industries and these results show our continued ability to attract international visitors in a fiercely competitive global market. We are seeing success in growing tourism from our long-haul, high-spending markets including the US, our largest and most valuable inbound market, and from markets that are crucial for our future such as China.”

Ms Yates added: “Working with partners globally we are telling customers about experiences they can only have here, converting the inspiration to visit into bookings and driving growth from tourism across the nations, boosting local economies.”

Work to embed the Tourism Sector Deal, announced by the UK Government in June, is expected to drive major investment, addressing issues from skills and productivity to building stronger tourism destinations across the country.

VisitBritain has said it is also working with the tourism industry to encourage visits postBrexit.