2013-01-12 — /travelprnews.com/ — Official figures released today (ONS) reveal that Britain has seen the best November since 2007 with visits an impressive nine per cent higher than 2011, keeping the country on track for 31 million visits by the end 2012.
When looking at spend across the eleven months, £17.2 billion was spent in the UK by overseas visitors, representing a record high in nominal terms. Analysis of the results sees a return to growth for all journey purposes, with holiday visits up nine per cent, visits to friends and relations up six per cent and a welcome 11 per cent rise in business visits.
November also saw growth from nearly all the regions in the world. On average the whole of Europe saw a 10 per cent rise with visits from the rest of the world up 12 per cent (apart from North America).
Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy at VisitBritain said: “To have the best November in five years is some achievement as 2012 was no ordinary year for inbound tourism.
“We expect to reach our forecast of 31 million visits for the full year (2012), giving us the perfect foundation to see continued strong growth in international tourism in 2013 contributing revenue to the UK economy and creating new jobs across Britain.
About VisitBritain
VisitBritain is Britain’s national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain overseas. We work with thousands of organisations in the UK and overseas to market Britain successfully to visitors from around the world. We also work to promote the tourism industry within the UK itself.
We work in partnership with the Government, the industry and our strategic partners in London, England, Scotland and Wales to promote Britain in 35 key overseas markets.
Our network of international offices is supported by our London-based marketing, commercial, research and policy teams, who in turn are backed up by experts in IT, financial management and other essential disciplines.
We also provide UK government with advice on tourism policy and raise awareness of the significance of tourism to the UK economy. We are particularly working towards showcasing Britain and maximising the tourism benefits in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.
Our grant in aid received from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is approximately £32.6 million for 2010/11.
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For more information contact:
David Leslie.
e: david.leslie@visitbritain.org
Mark Di-Toro
Press Officer, VisitBritain
t:+44 (0)20 7578 1098
m:+44 (0)7919 392137
e: mark.di-toro@visitbritain.org