Card spending data

Card spending data from Visa provides regular insights on visitor spending in Britain, by origin, card type, merchant category and more.

Released in:

May 2026

Next release:

August 2026

For further information, please get in touch.

Card spending: inbound visitor trends

Report highlights - data up to March 2026

  • Total inbound spend to Britain grew by 10% in March 2026 vs 2025, with cardholder visits growing by 1%.
  • Particularly strong spend growth in March is likely linked to multiple factors including increased spend in Britain from cards registered in the Middle East which has not been reflected in flight arrivals. Earlier dates for Eid and Easter in 2026 may also be contributing to this trend, as well as a strong month for other high spending markets such as Germany and France. Year-to-date spending was up in real terms by 1%, with cardholder visits up by 3%. 
  • Average spend per trip grew in real terms in March (+4%) but declined in the YTD by 3%. Length of stay continued to decline YoY in March 2026, down by 9%.
  • In March 2026, most spend categories saw growth vs 2025; led by Retail and Fuel.

View the latest report

Inbound card spending insights - Monthly report up to March 2026

Explore the card spending data

Use the visualisation to explore the card spending data which looks at the latest spend trends, spending behaviour and how this varies by origin market.

About the data

VisitBritain/VisitEngland gained access to card spending insights via the ‘Visa Destination Insights’ dashboard. This dashboard offers data on monthly spend by domestic and inbound visitors to Britain in addition to a range of other key metrics designed to uncover visitor spending behaviour. Trends can be analysed by visitor origin, region type, card type, the merchant categories which money was spent on, and more.

Definition of key metrics:

  • Spend amount refers to the total spend taking place in an area for a selected period of time.
  • Card count refers to the total unique Visa cards used in transactions within an area for a selected period of time
  • Transaction count refers to the total transactions taken place in an area for a selected period of time.
  • Average spend per transaction is calculated by dividing total spend by transaction count.
  • Average stay duration and average spend per trip are calculated based on identifying ‘trips’ where travellers made purchases outside their residence for a period of two days or more. Stay duration is based on the dates of first and last transactions in Britain.

An ‘inbound visitor’ is defined as a cardholder of a Visa card registered outside the UK, who has made purchases within Britain. International cardholders who make purchases in Britain for a period of 3 months or more are excluded as ‘international residents’.

Reports archive

Please note that the data shared in these reports may change in future publications, due to improvements in data processing.

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    Card Spending to Britain - Inbound Report (Published August 2024)

    Please do not re-publish data from this report on any public platform, including combining the data with that from other sources, before contacting VisitBritain/VisitEngland for approval.