US visitors boost tourist spending total

A rise in the number of visits by North American residents to the UK in August led to an increase in foreign visitor spending, the Office for National Statistics has revealed.

Overseas residents spent £2.02 billion during their trips to the UK in August, compared with £1.96bn in August 2010.

The August figure took spending by foreign residents in the UK for the first eight months of 2011 to £11.65bn – a 4 per cent increase on the January-August 2010 figure.

Although the number of visits by North Americans to the UK rose from 374,000 in August 2010 to 380,000 this August year, total visits by overseas residents dipped from 3.19 million in August 2010 to 3.13 million in August 2011.

But the total for the year so far – at 20.79 million – is 3 per cent higher than the total for January-August 2010.

Spending by Britons abroad to the end of August this year fell 4 per cent to £21.23bn.