toUrism French top UK inbound visitors


VisitBritain has revealed fig- ures that show the increasing popularity of Britain from tourism powerhouse China, a strong French inbound mar- ket and record spend from Australia, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The figures, from the


Office for National Statistics’ 2012 International Passenger Survey, recorded total spend of £18.6bn – a 4 per cent rise from 2011 – and a 1 per cent rise in visits. Looking at the market spe-


leisure media sTudIo Te figures break down Britain’s inbound tourist numbers by country


cific breakdown, there were no substantial changes to the top 10 countries from 2011, with close European neighbours France continuing to dominate the visit tables. More than 3.8 million people from France vis- ited the UK last year, spending £1.5bn. Germany, the USA, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands complete the top five. Te


Netherlands – along with Poland and Belgium – moved up the top 10 rankings in 2012. A record 179,000 visitors came to Britain


from China in 2012 (up 20 per cent), spending a total of £300m (a rise of 25 per cent), equat- ing to an average of £1,676 per visit. Details: http://lei.sr?a=I0c3T


Post-Olympics slump anticipated for London hotels


London hotel industry experts anticipate a potential slump this summer, according to discount travel website Hotwire.com. Although the British government predicted


that an additional 4.5m tourists would visit the city in the four years aſter the 2012 Olympic


Games, industry experts are starting to sense that this may be an overly optimistic view. Hotwire said that even amidst the projected


tourism boom of last year, the number of tour- ists to London actually dropped from 3.36m to 3.18m. Details: http://lei.sr?a=b8y0Q


Belfast benefits from Titanic attraction


Northern Ireland museum Titanic Belfast has contrib- uted an estimated £54.3m to the city’s economy in the year since it opened. The six-floor building,


which includes nine interpre- tive and interactive galleries, informs visitors about the construction of RMS Titanic and the wider story of the country’s industrial and maritime history. Touted as the world’s larg-


est Titanic visitor experience, the attraction opened on 31 March 2012, in time for the 100th anniversary of the ship’s fateful maiden voyage. In the year since it opened its doors,


© Cybertrek 2013 Te £97m museum opened last March, ahead of Titanic’s centenary


more than 800,000 people have visited the museum and it is believed the attraction


brought an additional 460,000 people to the city, increasing hotel occupancy levels to record numbers during the summer months. Details: http://lei.sr?a=n3n3J


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