Even before the Jubilee and the Olympics, Britain saw some impressive numbers for 2012. The International Passenger Survey results for April were recently released. Here are some of the major details:
· Arrival figures for April are up in both the volume and value of inbound tourism compared to April 2011, with visits from overseas and the amount spent during these visits rising by 10 percent.
· In total, April saw a record 2.9 million visits from overseas, while spending amounted to $2.1 billion.
· Holiday visits were also up by 5 percent in April, continuing a recent trend for setting new records. The 1.2 million arrivals in April means there has been 3.3 million holiday visits so far this year. This is 7 percent higher than at the same point in 2011.
· Looking at the overall figures so far in 2012 (a period that is traditionally the quietest for Britain) there has been a 6 percent increase in visits and a 5 percent increase in spend compared to the same period last year.
· Visits from vital European high volume and high value markets performed strongly during April with visits from EU15 markets at a record 1.9 million, up 5 percent on April 2011 and meaning that in the first four months of this year nearly 5.7 million residents of these markets have made a trip to Britain, up 4 percent on 2011.
Commenting on the April IPS figures, Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications at VisitBritain said: “The first few months of the year are traditionally a quiet period for visits to the UK, so to see a record month like this with an increase of 10 percent in both visits and spend is encouraging."
