The table below shows trends in inbound tourism for the period 2001 to 2011 based on the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey.  The number of visits peaked in 2007 at 32.8 million, since when there were several years of slight decline followed by a small increase in 2011.  After a long period during which the average spend per visit hovered at a little under £500 there has been a marked increase in the past four years, driven on by the relative weakness of sterling.  

The long-term trend is for the average length of time each inbound visitor stays in the UK to decline, however the figure has been fairly stable for the past five years.  In line with many other developed economies the UK has an international tourism balance of payments deficit.  This increased both rapidly and consistently in the decade to 2008, but has shrunk by over a third in recent years as Britons took fewer overseas trips.   

The top ten inbound markets for the UK in terms of number of visits during 2011 accounted for two in three visits (66%).  It is noteworthy that only two long-haul markets, the USA and Australia, appear in the top ten.  Looking at spending by inbound visitors, the top ten markets account for 55% of all spending, with the USA worth almost twice as much as the next most valuable market, Germany.  All of the top ten markets measured in terms of value are 'developed' rather than 'emerging' source markets for international tourism. 

Compared to ten years ago four out of the five markets which have grown most in value in absolute terms are markets in close proximity to the UK, namely Germany, France, Spain and Norway, but it is notable that the value of the Australian market has grown by £473m since 2001.  The 'relative' growth in value compared to 2001 shows the rapid rise in importance of a couple of countries that joined the European Union in 2004 but also reveals a rapid growth in the value of the markets from Brazil and China. 

The markets which have declined most since 2001 in terms of absolute reduction in spending is topped by Japan, with with the valuable US market also in the top five.  The 'relative' decline figures show that the value of the market from Japan in 2011 has decreased by more than a third compared to a decade ago. 

In 2011 nearly two-in-five inbound visits to the UK were for a Holiday (39%), while just over one-in-five (23%) were for Business.  Looking at the share of visitor nights by journey purpose it is clear that trips to Visit Friends or Relatives (VFR) account for the largest share (39%), thanks to the fact that these trips involve a longer than average length of stay.

By contrast VFR trips account for a lower share of inbound visitor spend (22%) than they do of visits (29%), while Holiday and Business spending (39% and 24% respectively) is in line with their respective share of visits (39% and 23%).

In 2011 the period July to September accounted for just over one-in-three of all Holiday visits (34%), and April to June for just under one-in-three (30%) whilst only around one-in-six (16%) were in the first three months of the year.  By contrast Business visits show a more even seasonal spread (24%-27%), while VFR trips are more likely to take place in the July to September (29%) than the January to March (22%) period.

The UK enjoys excellent global connectivity, with well over 100 countries having direct air connections to the UK in 2011.  It can be seen from the pie chart that in 2011 almost three quarters of inbound visitors reached the UK by air. 

As visitors who travel by air tend to spend more per visit than those using other means of transport the share of visitor spend accounted for by visitors who fly to the UK stood at 84% in 2011.

Visitors who travel by ferry account for around one-in-seven visits, with the Channel Tunnel being the chosen method for getting to and from the UK for about one-in-eight visitors.

London is a key destination for inbound visitors to the UK.  In 2011 15.2 million visitors spent time in the capital, spending over £9.3bn.  This represents 53% of all inbound visitor spending.

The rest of England attracted 13 million inbound visitors who spent an estimated £6.2bn, representing 35% of all inbound visitor spend.  Scotland attracted 2.3 million visitors and 8% of all visitor spending, with the equivalent figures for Wales being 0.9 million visits and 2% of visitor spend.  The 'other' category includes visits to the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, along with those visitors whose nights in the UK were spent travelling. 

Note that some 1.5 million visitors from overseas made 'day trips' to the UK in 2010, with these visits generating £134 million of spending.