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London leads the way in UK tourism boom

The number of tourists visiting London has risen for the third quarter running in figures revealed by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) today.

Their findings show that the number of overnight visits to the capital by international tourists totalled 5.2m in the third quarter of last year. Up by almost 6% on the same period in 2014. Visits were also up for the other regions of England which saw a combined total of 4.7m, up from 4.3m.

Crucially, the number of overseas visitors to London continued to eclipse that of the rest of the UK, accounting for nearly half of all visits to the UK from the beginning of July to the end of October.

Commenting on the news, Mark Byrne, director of business development for travel and tourism at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The Rugby World Cup provided a major draw for overseas visitors coming to the UK last September and October.

“In fact, these figures show that the capital continues to lead the nationwide tourism boom with London – already the world’s most visited city – responsible for almost half of all international visits to the UK in the third quarter of last year, following on from a record-setting second quarter.

The ONS figures also showed an increase in the number of Britons holidaying abroad with 16.8m enjoying a late summer holiday. In light of these figures, Mark added: “British holidaymakers - finding themselves with more money to spend thanks to a combination of falling fuel and food prices and the first sustained wage rises in years - treated themselves to eight per cent more late summer holidays than during the same period in 2014.

“Luxury operators and those offering an experience beyond the mainstream week in the sun did particularly well, with consumers who have been hard-wired to hunt for a bargain now seemingly ready to spend a little extra on something different that they feel gives them most value.”