Asia, Middle East drive record year for UK tourism

Tuesday, 20 May 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

TOURISTS from Asia-Pacific, Middle East and South Africa (APMEA) to the UK increased 7% last year from 2012 to reach a record level of 4.3 million visits. The top five markets from APMEA in 2013 were respectively Australia (1.07 million visitors, up 7.7%); India (375,000 visitors, up 10.6%); Gulf Commonwealth countries combined (590,000 visitors, up 11.3%); Japan (221,000 visitors, down 9.1%); and China (196,000 visitors, up 9.7%). Revealing these figures during Destination Britain APMEA – VisitBritain’s annual trade mission to Asia-Pacific – in Kuala Lumpur on Monday night, Helen Grant, British Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities, attributed last year’s record arrivals to strong visitor interest built on the back of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In total, the UK attracted a record number of 32.8 million visitors in 2013, while overseas visitor spend also surged to a new high of £21.01 billion ($35.4 billion), up from £19.11 billion in 2012. Keith Beecham, Overseas Network Director of VisitBritain, stressed that APMEA is an important region as visitors tend to be long-staying and spend from this region account for 30%, or £6.3 billion, of all inbound tourism revenue in Britain. Now into its 11th consecutive year, Destination Britain APMEA this year facilitated the meeting of 64 UK companies with 90 key buyers from across 20 APMEA markets.

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