Britain - A World Class Destination

 

Foreign visitors to Great Britain last year spent a record £17.7bn, a figure that confirms Britain's place as a top world-class destination.

According to VisitBritain, the number of tourists coming to the UK for holiday purposes was also a record at just under 12 million. In 2011, 3.57 million visits were by North American residents - a five per cent increase on the figure for 2010.

"As we look back on a positive 2011 for both holiday visits and spending, we want to make sure we capitalise on these gains by helping boost jobs across the country and create a lasting tourism legacy for many years to come,” said Patricia Yates, strategy and communications director at VisitBritain.

'We are encouraged that...the number of visitors coming to Britain from North America has risen. This is significant as we earn very nearly twice as much from US visitors than we do from any other source market,' she added.

Bumper tourist year expected for Britain with Jubilee and Olympic Games

Britain’s rich history and heritage continue to be strong drivers in attracting visitors. Famous buildings and monuments, castles and stately homes, and churches / cathedrals are all well regarded and interest is reflected in visit numbers. Britain is seen as a world-class destination in terms of its built heritage.

Castles hosting live concerts, museums holding fashion shows, or river boat rides on the Thames are especially exciting for potential tourists.

For a traveler whether shopping online or visiting the top travel destinations throughout the great cities of the world such as London, you will find duty free shopping. If you want to know anything about arrivals duty free, or duty free shops on ferry boats, cruise ships, frontier crossing border stores and tax-free refund shopping, search your destination first.