USA

USA

Visitor characteristics

New York and California generate the most visits with the two states representing over a third of all visits from the USA to the UK
Almost 6 out of 10 American holiday visitors are making a repeat visit
Holiday visits continue to lead in terms of volume of visits from the American market
American‘s have a higher propesity to visit the UK during the summer period

Popular activities for American visitors while in the UK

Dining in a restaurant

Visited a Pub

Went Shopping

Global context

Measure	2018
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	144.2
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	2
Number of outbound visits (m)	120.4
Most visited destination	Mexico
Most visited destination in Western Europe	France

Key demographic and economic data

Measure	2018
Population (m)	327.9
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	59,523
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	1.8
Annual average GDP growth in 2018 (%)	2.9

USA Market and Trade Profile (PDF, 1.9MB)

visitbritain_market_profile_usa_2019.pdf

USA Market Snapshot (PDF, 4.85MB)

usa_market_snapshot_2018_data.pdf

USA Aviation Profile (PDF, 700KB)

usa_aviation_profile_31072019.pdf

Read the report on North American LGBTQ travel to Britain (PDF, 2.7MB, Published March 2019)

lgbtq_traveltobritain.pdf

Find out where visitors from the USA reside in their own country (Excel, 212KB, Published August 2006, 2008, 2014 and 2017)

annual_states_of_residence_2018_for_web.xlsx

Find out more about the international travel behaviour and perceptions of Britain among international travellers from California and the New York Tri-State (PDF, 1.3MB, Published February 2018)

foresight_161_-_us_east_vs_west_coast.pdf

Look at the role of social media in the context of overseas holidays from the USA. (PDF, 3.1MB, Published November 2015)

foresight_142_-_november_2015_social_media_v3.pdf

Read more about the role and the perception of the UK's culture and heritage in the USA (PDF, 2.4MB, Published December 2014)

foresight_134_-_leveraging_our_culture_and_heritage.pdf

Find out what perceptions of Britain stop Americans exploring outside of London (PDF, 0.9MB, Published July 2013)

2013-7 ‘Beyond London’ Research_8.pdf

Uncover insights about the international travel behaviour of Hispanics living in the US, their sentiment towards Britain and a select number of competitor destinations (PDF, 0.4MB, Published April 2013)

The US Hispanic Traveller Summary Report.pdf

Read the report on the US Hispanic population and their travel behaviour (PDF, 1.6MB, Published September 2012)

2012-9 Profile of the US Hispanic population_0.pdf

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.3058 USD

As of 21 January 2020

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from USA

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Drag to change year on charts and tables.

Touch the data points to see the values.

OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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* Change from {{Number(activeYear.name) - 1}}

Chart
Table

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	Visits	% total	Visits	% total
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Chart
Table

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Chart
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What Americans think about Britain

Americans have a very upbeat perception of Britain as they ranked Britain 3rd overall among 50 nations
Americans rate Britain highly for sport, contemporary culture, and vibrant city life
Museums is the cultural product that is most strongly associated with Britain among Americans
Areas of strength for Britain include ‘cultural attractions’ and ‘ease of getting around' according to American visitors

Caring for visitors

As many will arrive in Britain on overnight flights from the US, consideration for early check-in at hotels/accommodation is always appreciated
Americans will want to stay in a 3-star plus property in a good/central location
Americans are used to larger rooms than are generally found in Britain as well as larger beds and having private bathrooms
Americans are very comfortable paying for goods and services with a credit card

The leisure & travel trade

The travel trade structure in the US is made up of tour operators, online travel agents (OTAs) and front-line retail travel advisors. The market is experiencing growth in the Home Based Travel advisor community; often affiliated to a travel agent consortia
Generally allow a minimum lead time of two years for product to appear in a fully escorted tour, with a shorter planning cycle of six months to a year for FIT/independent travel
Some independent operators will develop product at various times throughout the year as many no longer publish printed brochures
Contracting for the following year can start any time from the fall (World Travel Market) through until June

Access to Britain from the USA

Measure	2018
Weekly aircraft departures	937
Weekly seat capacity	257,987
Airports with direct routes in the USA	36
Airports with direct routes in Britain	13

Most visitors depart the UK by air (87%), another 11% leave through the Channel Tunnel
36 airports in the USA were connected to the UK via direct flights, in 2018
Airline seat capacity from the USA reached its highest level in 2018 since 2006
In 2018, London Heathrow had 76% of seat capacity from the USA to the UK

England Business Advice Hub

Markets

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USA

Visitor characteristics

Popular activities for American visitors while in the UK

Global context

Key demographic and economic data

Resources

More resources

Exchange rate

Inbound visits to Britain from USA

OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

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What Americans think about Britain

Caring for visitors

The leisure & travel trade

Access to Britain from the USA

England Business Advice Hub

Markets

Find your markets

USA

USA

Visitor characteristics

Popular activities for American visitors while in the UK

Global context

Key demographic and economic data

Resources

More resources

Exchange rate

Inbound visits to Britain from USA

OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

{{totalVisits | fixUnits}}

{{totalSpend | spendUnits}}

{{totalNights | fixUnits}}

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What Americans think about Britain

Caring for visitors

The leisure & travel trade

Access to Britain from the USA

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