UK Tourism Statistics

Data & insight · Updated

UK Tourism Statistics

How many people visit the United Kingdom, where they come from, what they spend and where they go — the latest official figures, drawn from the ONS International Passenger Survey, VisitBritain, ALVA and the WTTC. Each section uses the newest data available: 2025 for attractions, hotels and domestic trips, VisitBritain’s estimates for 2025 inbound travel, and revised ONS figures for 2024.

≈43.6m International visits 2025 estimate · VisitBritain
≈£33.2bn Inbound visitor spend 2025 estimate · VisitBritain
103m Domestic overnight trips Britain, 2025
1.06bn Tourism day visits Britain, 2025
82.5% London hotel occupancy 2025 · regional cities 75.7%

Inbound visitors

International visitors to the UK

International visits to the UK recovered to roughly pre-pandemic levels in 2024 — about 1% below 2019 on a comparable basis. VisitBritain estimates a further 2% rise in 2025, to about 43.6 million, and forecasts 44.2 million for 2026; official ONS figures for 2025 are due in late 2026.

40.9m 2019 pre-pandemic peak 11.1m 2020 pandemic 6.2m 2021 31.2m 2022 38.0m 2023 40.3m 2024 comparable

The chart uses VisitBritain’s modelled comparable series for 2024 (40.3m). The ONS headline for 2024 is 42.6m, inflated by a new Northern Ireland (NISRA) method; VisitBritain’s 2025 estimate (43.6m) is measured against that ONS basis rather than the comparable series, so it is not plotted as a bar.

Source ONS — International Passenger Survey — 2024 estimates, revised 4 Sep 2026 (official statistics in development); UK headline from Travel trends 2024; 2025 figures due Oct–Nov 2026. UK; 2024 on VisitBritain modelled basis

Visitor spending

What international visitors spend

Inbound visitors spent a nominal record of £32.5 billion in 2024, and VisitBritain estimates £33.2 billion for 2025 (+2%). In real terms, however, spending is still below 2019 once inflation is taken into account.

£28.4bn 2019 £5.8bn 2021 pandemic low £26.5bn 2022 £31.1bn 2023 £32.5bn 2024 £33.2bn 2025 estimate

No reliable UK inbound-spend figure is published for 2020, so that year is omitted. 2025 is a VisitBritain estimate (August 2026) pending ONS data. The ONS’s September 2026 revision lowered Great Britain’s 2024 spend to £31.0bn; a revised UK total is not yet published. Figures are nominal.

Source ONS — International Passenger Survey — 2024 estimates, revised 4 Sep 2026 (official statistics in development); UK headline from Travel trends 2024; 2025 figures due Oct–Nov 2026. UK; 2025 = VisitBritain estimate

Source markets

Where the UK's visitors come from

The United States is by far the UK’s biggest source market — about 5.5 million visits and £7.0 billion of spend in 2024, over a fifth of all inbound spending. Bars show 2024 visits; the muted figure is that market’s spend where published.

  1. 1 United States 5.5m · £7.0bn
  2. 2 France 3.5m · £1.9bn
  3. 3 Germany 3.2m · £2.0bn
  4. 4 Irish Republic 2.8m
  5. 5 Spain 2.6m · £1.4bn
  6. 6 Italy 2.0m
  7. 7 Netherlands 1.9m
  8. 8 Poland 1.5m
  9. 9 Australia 1.2m · £1.6bn
  10. 10 Canada 1.0m

Source VisitBritain — Inbound visits and spend: annual, UK — revised 2024 data (released 4 Sep 2026). GB, 2024 revised

Why they come

Purpose of visit

Holidays and visiting friends or relatives (VFR) together account for nearly three-quarters of trips. Business looks larger than in earlier releases partly because the ONS now models lorry drivers at Dover and the Channel Tunnel as business visitors.

100% of visits
  • Holiday 40%
  • Visiting friends & relatives 34%
  • Business 19%
  • Miscellaneous 6%
  • Study 1%

Source VisitBritain — Inbound visits and spend: annual, UK — revised 2024 data (released 4 Sep 2026). GB, 2024 revised — share of visits

Seasonality

When they visit

Spring and summer are the busiest seasons: April–June brings the most visits, while July–September is the high point for spending (£9.5 billion) and nights.

8.6m Q1 Jan–Mar 10.8m Q2 Apr–Jun 10.3m Q3 Jul–Sep 9.4m Q4 Oct–Dec

Source VisitBritain — Inbound visits and spend: annual, UK — revised 2024 data (released 4 Sep 2026). GB quarterly figures, 2024 revised

Attractions

the UK's most-visited attractions

Nine of the UK’s ten most-visited attractions are in London, led by the Natural History Museum’s record 7.1 million visits in 2025; Scotland’s National Museum and Edinburgh Castle also make the top 15. ALVA members together drew 165 million visits in 2025, up 2%.

  1. 1 Natural History Museum 7.12m
  2. 2 British Museum 6.44m
  3. 3 Windsor Great Park 4.98m
  4. 4 Tate Modern 4.51m
  5. 5 The National Gallery 4.15m
  6. 6 Southbank Centre 3.42m
  7. 7 Victoria and Albert Museum 3.33m
  8. 8 Somerset House 2.90m
  9. 9 Tower of London 2.82m
  10. 10 Science Museum 2.64m
  11. 11 Royal Museums Greenwich 2.36m
  12. 12 National Museum of Scotland 2.32m
  13. 13 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2.25m
  14. 14 RSC London theatres 2.10m
  15. 15 Edinburgh Castle 2.04m

Source ALVA — Association of Leading Visitor Attractions — 2025 Visitor Figures (published March 2026).

Accommodation

Hotels & occupancy

UK hotels edged up in 2025: London occupancy rose to 82.5% and regional cities to 75.7%, with room rates broadly flat. Knight Frank forecasts similar levels for 2026.

82.5% London hotel occupancy 2025 · +1.2 pts
75.7% UK regional-city occupancy 2025 · +0.8 pts
£253 London average daily rate 2025 · regional cities £105

Source Knight Frank — UK Hotel Trading Performance Review 2026 (HotStats data) — 2025 results.

Economic impact

Tourism in the UK's economy

Travel and tourism is one of the UK’s largest sectors. The WTTC figures below are the most-cited measure of its full economic contribution; its 2025 figures are not yet public, and the 2024 number should be read as indicative (see methodology).

≈£286bn Travel & tourism GDP contribution WTTC, 2024 · ~10% of GDP
≈4.2m Jobs supported WTTC, 2024
50m Govt target: visitors a year UK Government, by 2030

London alone generates about 55% of Great Britain’s inbound visitor spend. Scotland drew 4.3 million inbound visits in 2024, well above its pre-pandemic level.

Source WTTC — Economic Impact Research — UK travel & tourism GDP and employment, 2024. figure revised across report vintages — indicative

Source VisitBritain — inbound tourism forecast — 2025 estimate and 2026 forecast (updated 27 Aug 2026); UK Government target of 50m visitors by 2030.

At a glance

Fast facts

  • 44.2m VisitBritain forecast visits, 2026
  • 22% US share of inbound spend (2024)
  • 4.3m Scotland inbound visits (2024)
  • 53% London's share of GB inbound visits (2024)
  • 165m ALVA attraction visits (2025)
  • £91.1bn Domestic tourism spend in Britain (2025)

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How many tourists visit the UK each year?

VisitBritain estimates about 43.6 million international visits in 2025, up 2%, and forecasts 44.2 million for 2026; official ONS figures for 2025 are due in late 2026. Britain also recorded 103 million domestic overnight trips and 1.06 billion tourism day visits in 2025.

How much do international visitors spend in the UK?

About £32.5 billion in 2024 — a nominal record — with VisitBritain estimating £33.2 billion for 2025. In real terms that is still below 2019.

Which country sends the most visitors to the UK?

The United States, with about 5.5 million visits and £7.0 billion of spending in 2024 — over a fifth of all inbound spend and comfortably ahead of France and Germany.

What is the UK's most-visited attraction?

The Natural History Museum, with 7.1 million visits in 2025 — a record for any UK museum — ahead of the British Museum (6.4 million). Nine of the ten most-visited UK attractions are in London.

Is UK tourism back to pre-pandemic levels?

Broadly, in volume. On a comparable basis 2024 visits were about 1% below 2019, and VisitBritain puts 2026 at 103% of 2019 visits — but inbound spending is still around 10% below 2019 in real terms.

Notes & sources

Methodology & sources

This page compiles publicly available official statistics. Every chart links to its source above. Key caveats:

  • Latest data. Official inbound figures are for 2024, as revised by the ONS on 4 September 2026 (“official statistics in development”); ONS figures for 2025 are due in October–November 2026. The 2025 inbound numbers shown are VisitBritain estimates (August 2026). Attraction, hotel and domestic-tourism figures are for 2025.
  • Comparable trend. The visitor chart uses VisitBritain’s modelled comparable basis for 2024 (~40.3m). The ONS headline of 42.6m is inflated by a new Northern Ireland (NISRA) method and is not comparable with earlier years; VisitBritain’s 2025 estimate is measured against that ONS basis.
  • Nominal values. Spending figures are in cash terms and not adjusted for inflation, so recent “records” are still below 2019 in real terms.
  • Geography. Market, purpose and quarterly detail for 2024 is published at Great Britain level, and country totals exclude the ONS’s modelled freight records. Domestic overnight and day-visit figures cover Britain and are “statistics in development”.
  • Hotels. Hotel figures come from Knight Frank's 2026 review (HotStats data), which uses a different sample from its previous edition, so they should not be compared with earlier Knight Frank figures.
  • Economic impact. The WTTC contribution figure has been revised upward across recent report vintages (from ~£237bn for 2022), so treat the exact 2024 number as indicative rather than precise.

Primary sources