International visitors spent a record £1.5 billion across Britain in February 2014 representing a 45 per cent increase on February last year.
Visits up 9%
In what is traditionally one of the quieter months, visits in February were also up nine per cent in February 2014, with holiday visits posting double digit growth (25%), while visits from friends and relatives and business trips are also performing beyond expectations.
Visits from Europe were the main driver of overall visits growth (EU15, Other Europe and Rest of Europe) followed closely by ‘rest of world’ markets.
The three months to February remain positive with visits up 5 per cent and nominal spend up 21 per cent compared with the same three months a year previously.
International visitors to spend 6% more every year
Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive of VisitBritain commented on the positive results: “The strong results continue to prove that tourism has a key role to play in the wider success of the British economy. Inbound tourism continues to be the fastest growing sector of the industry, with spend by international visitors forecast to grow 6 per cent a year across the rest of this decade.
“Tourism may not be a tangible product, but it’s a major export earner for this country which VisitBritain sells overseas. Last year earnings topped a record £24 billion, which is more than crude oil and cars. And tourism is a major job creator for Britain – for every 18 Chinese visitors who come to Britain an additional job is created in tourism.”
Helen Grant, Minister for Tourism, said: “These record figures for February show just how well our tourism strategy is working and the valuable contribution the sector is making to economic growth. I am delighted that more people are coming to enjoy the best of Britain and spending their cash. I will continue to work closely with the tourism sector to keep this momentum up.”
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