Record number of foreign tourists welcomed by UK
london — Britain received a record number of foreign visitors in the second quarter of 2017, and the number of Britons making trips abroad reached an all-time high for the time of year, official figures showed on Friday.
Some 10.75 million foreigners visited Britain for tourism or other purposes between April and June, eight per cent more than during 2016 and the most for any calendar quarter since records began in 1980, the Office for National Statistics said.
Britons made 19.09 million overseas trips during the same period, one per cent more than in 2016 and an all-time high for the time of year, though less than in the peak July-September period which covers schools’ summer holidays.
Sterling’s fall against the US dollar and the euro since June 2016’s vote to leave the European Union has made Britain a cheaper place for foreign visitors.
There was a 20 per cent increase in tourism — which accounts for just under half of visits — while business trips fell by four per cent and those to see family and friends were littlechanged.
An ONS statistician said there was no evidence in the data that militant attacks in London and
20% rise in tourism, though business trips fell 4%
Manchester earlier in the year had deterred visitors.
Visits from North America were 29 per cent higher than in 2016 at 1.47 million, though the number of visitors from Europe was up a much more modest three per cent at 7.73 million. — Reuters
Howard Archer, an economist for consultants EY ITEM Club, said North American visits had been “clearly buoyed” by the pound’s weakness against the dollar.
British tourism promotion agency VisitBritain said it had revised up its forecasts for visitor numbers this year, and that flight bookings pointed to a 9 per cent rise in visitors for the July-September period.
“This continued growth demonstrates the industry’s increasing importance as a key driver of economic growth,” VisitBritain’s director, Patricia Yates, said.
Overall, visitors to Britain spent £6.23 billion ($8.03 billion) in the three months to June, eight per cent more than in 2016, while Britons’ spending abroad in-