Royal wedding leads to tourism boom
London:The royal wedding helped Britain have its best ever year for tourism in 2011, as a record number of foreigners took a holiday in the UK.
According to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 30.6 million overseas residents visited the UK last year, an increase of 800,000 on 2010.
Almost half of the increase was accounted for by people from Asia, South America and Africa. Visits from Brazil rose by over 50 per cent, while Chinese visitors rose by a third as people from emerging markets flocked to the UK.Visits by Americans hit their highest levels since 2008.
The ONS said that over the month of April, when the royal wedding took place, an extra 350,000 visitors came to the UK compared to the previous year.
Visitors spent a record £17.8 billion over 2011, equivalent to almost £600 each and a year-on-year increase of 5 per cent.
Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communication at VisitBritain, said: “We have had three straight years of declining arrival figures, so for 2011 to show a return to growth, with 800,000 more overseas visitors coming to Britain, is great news.”
The number of visitors who came to the UK specifically for a holiday – as opposed to visit family and friends – rose by over 250,000 to 11.6 million, the highest number on record.
Visitor numbers were further boosted by an increase in people on business trips.
Ms Yates said that the momentum must be increased for this year’s Olympics, which she called “the largest spectacle on earth”.
According to VisitBritain, the top 10 attractions in London included the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Natural History Museum.
