2012 tourist figures: Inbound visitors spend £19bn in UK in Olympic year

According to the ONS, 2012 witnessed a record number of visits from the ‘rest of the world’ markets at 4.9 million and a record 2.2 million visits from non EU markets as well as seeing the highest spend from the North American and European markets since 2008. 

Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain, said: “Inbound tourism has shown it can continue to deliver growth to the UK economy and Britain has managed to avoid the threatened displacement in the year of the Games.

“Our tourism strategy was clearly to use the showcasing of the Games and turn the millions who watched coverage of Britain into visitors in the months and years ahead. We have made an excellent start and will continue our work promoting Britain as a great place to visit to deliver further revenue and jobs in the UK through 2013.”