Of the 5,093 visitors surveyed as they left UK airports in 2014, 42 per cent said they had felt 'extremely welcome' during their stay, compared to 30 per cent in 2012 and 19 per cent in 2009.
Overall 89 per cent of visitors said they felt extremely or very welcome in Britain and of those 93 per cent said they were extremely or very likely to recommend visiting the nation to family and friends. Personal recommendations were, in fact, the biggest influence in holiday choice according to the survey, scoring more highly than travel brochures, special offers of advertising.
VisitBritain director Patricia Yates said the news that the nation was seen as could only have a positive impact on to future visits to the UK.
“We know that being considered friendly and welcoming can really make a difference to people’s travel decisions and whether they would recommend a destination. In an era where social media recommendations from friends are so important, it is great to see these historically weaker areas continuing to improve," she said.
“We’ve been focusing on promoting Britain’s welcome around the world through our global Welcome to Great Britain marketing campaigns so it is good to see these improvements not only in our traditionally high value markets such as the USA, but also in our emerging visitor markets including India and growth markets such as China.”
Welcome
Ensuring overseas visitors receive an improved welcome is one of the Government's five point plan for boosting regional tourism. Announced by David Cameron in July, the plan comprises steps to boost visits by international tourists outside of London and into the regions to help create jobs and re-balance the economy.
Tracey Crouch, the Minister for Tourism, said UK tourism had become 'a global success story'.
"More tourists leaving with positive memories of their stay can only help spread the word that the UK is the place to visit," she said.
Inbound tourism numbers for the first nine months of 2015 show an increase of 3 per cent to 27 million compared to the same period last year.