Britain receives more visitors than ever before

 

A whopping 16.4 million international visitors arrived between January and June this year, an eight per cent increase on the same period last year, according to the latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The month of June saw a record 3.18 million visitors, a 10 per cent increase on the same month last year.

Britain saw 11.38 million visitors from countries in the European Union and 1.1 million from non-EU countries in Europe, while 1.57 million visited from North America and 2.28 million visited from the rest of the world.

In the other direction, the total number of trips abroad by UK residents also rose by four per cent to 27.14 million in the first half of this year. The number rose by five per cent in the 12 months to June 2014, with the number of trips taken as holidays increasing by four per cent in that period compared to a year earlier.

Visits to North America increased the most, by six per cent, followed by a five per cent rise in trips to countries outside Europe and North America, and a four per cent increase in visits to Europe.

Source