UK holiday parks and campsites could well have benefited from a record month for in inbound tourism to the country following a rise in overseas visitors in July.
Data from Visit England showed that July was the highest ever month for inbound visitors to the UK, with 3.8 million visits – 2% up on July 2015.
Overseas visitors to the UK spent £2.5 billion in July, 4% up on the same month last year, the organisation said.
Tourism Minister Tracey Crouch said: n”Britain is a world-class visitor destination with our stunning countryside, historic buildings and vibrant culture scene attracting a record number of visits from around the globe.
“Tourism makes an enormous contribution to our economy and we will continue to support the industry to ensure it thrives and that growth in the sector benefits the whole country.”
The Office for National Statistics figures show that it was a record July for inbound visits from EU countries, the UK’s largest visit-generating region, with 2.3 million visits, 3% up on last year.
There was also strong growth from North America, which includes the US – the UK’s most valuable visitor market – with visits up 5% to 580,000. Visits from the ‘rest of the world’, which includes Australia, China, the Gulf markets and India, were up 6% to 790,000.
VisitBritain/VisitEngland Chief Executive Sally Balcombe added: “We want Britain to be top of people’s list as a ‘must-go now’ destination and we have an immediate and real opportunity to promote Britain as a great value destination, particularly in our long-haul high spending markets such as China and the US.
Inbound tourism is worth more than £26 billion to the UK economy.
