Tourists flocking to UK as 10m visitors make it a bumper year
Tourism provided a welcome boost to the UK economy over the last year with more than 10m overseas visitors opting for a British holiday.
The number of tourists visiting the UK was up six per cent for the year-to-date, according to figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics.
Meanwhile, the beaches of Brighton and Margate proved to be too much competition for the French Riviera with the number of people travelling abroad this Summer falling slightly.
“A rich culture, highly sought-after retail offering and top leisure facilities continue to attract an increasing number of overseas visitors,” said Mike Saul, head of hospitality and leisure at Barclays.
“With UK consumer confidence continuing to rise, the drop in people heading overseas probably has more to do with the fine Summer weather we’ve had rather than any reflection on current levels of discretionary spend.”