London tops the UK as tourism hotspot, with tourists spending £36bn a year in the capital
The tourism industry is worth more than £15bn to London’s economy, more than any other region in the UK, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown.
Foreign tourists in the capital on business and holidays, along with day-trippers from the rest of the UK spent more than £36bn in London in 2013 out of a total of £130bn around the country during 2013.
The ONS said this spend created a total contribution to the UK economy, measured in gross value added (GVA), of £59bn, and expects it to have been worth more than £60bn in 2015.
Most spending came from UK citizens hopping around the country. In 2013, we spent £105bn on day trips, staycations and all other spending classified as within the tourism industry.
Those visiting the UK from abroad spent another £25bn – 14.7 per cent up on 2012, despite the Olympics effect.
While London clocked up the majority of the spend, unsurprisingly it was Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly where tourism was the most important to the local economy – accounting for 9.9 per cent of economic output.