The number of overseas tourist visits to London, United Kingdom continued to grow in 2023, following a sharp drop in 2021, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the significant annual increase, inbound arrivals in the UK's capital remained below pre-pandemic levels, reaching ***** million in 2023. That year, inbound tourist visits to the UK totaled nearly ** million. London leading the way in Europe London’s contribution to inbound tourism in the United Kingdom is significant, with the UK’s capital accounting for over ** percent of international tourist arrivals in the country in 2023. This was more than other leading European destinations, such as Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin. Those visiting the UK capital also made a significant contribution to the local economy, with expenditure of international visitors in London peaking in 2023, with inbound tourists spending over ** billion British pounds that year. However, this was not reflected in business travel spending in the city, which was nearly half a billion British pounds in 2023 than in 2019. London’s visitor attractions As the largest city in the UK, London is home to some of the country's most iconic visitor attractions. These range from government-sponsored museums, such as the British Museum, to the Tower of London and the ZSL London Zoo. In 2023, the ************** was the most visited tourist attraction in London. Overall, most sites have struggled to match the visitation rates recorded before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, however. For instance, attendance at the British Museum – the most visited free attraction in London in 2023 – declined by around ***** percent from 2019.

Visit Britain publish data relating to international visitors to the UK. They produce the data in two formats - individual spreadsheets for each region that are updated annually, and a single spreadsheet for all regions, containing less detail but updated quarterly. Data shows London totals for nights, visits, and spend. Data broken down by age, purpose, duration, mode and country. This data is also available from Visit Britain website, including the latest quarterly data for other regions. All data taken from the International Passenger Survey (IPS). Some additional data on domestic tourism can be found on the Visit Britain website, and Visit England both overnight tourism and Day visits pages. Data on accomodation occupancy levels is also available from Visit England. An overview of all tourism data for London can be found in this GLAE report 'Tourism in London' Further information can be found on the London and Partners website. Comparisons of international tourist arrivals with other world cities are produced by Euromonitor and in Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. This dataset is included in the Greater London Authority's Night Time Observatory. Click here to find out more.

The Tower of London was the most popular paid attraction in London in 2023, welcoming roughly 2.8 million visitors. Attendance at the renowned site grew significantly compared to the previous year, nearly catching up with the figure from 2019. Meanwhile, the Royal Botanical Gardens (Kew Gardens) was the second most visited paid attraction in 2023, with just under two million visitors. What is the most popular free tourist attraction in London? In 2023, the British Museum topped the ranking of the most visited free attractions in London, welcoming nearly six million visitors. While attendance at the British Museum did not fully recover from the impact of COVID-19, the number of visitors to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, which came in second in 2023, exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Overall, nine of the ten most visited tourist attractions in London that year did not charge for admission tickets. How many tourists visit London every year? London plays a key role in supporting the travel and tourism sector in the United Kingdom. Both before and after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was by far the city with the highest inbound tourism spending in the UK. In 2023, the number of international tourist visits to London surpassed 20 million, nearly catching up with the overseas tourist visits recorded in 2019.

London Borough level tourism trip estimates (thousands).

The ‘top-down’ nature of the Local Area Tourism Impact (LATI) model (starting with London data) means it is best suited to disaggregate expenditure. However, tourism trips were also disaggregated for comparative purposes using the estimated proportions of spending by overseas, domestic and day visitors in the boroughs. Since the trip estimates are derived from data on trips to London they do not account for trips to different boroughs by visitors whilst in London.

Indicative borough level day visitor/tourist estimates for 2007 were derived from the LDA’s own experimental London level day visitor estimates. As such the borough level day visitor estimates should be treated with caution and the 2007 day visitor estimates are not comparable with those from previous years. They are intended only to give a best estimate of the scale of day visitor tourism in each borough from the currently available data.

Further tourism data for UK regions covering trends in visits, nights, and spend to London by visitors from overseas is available on the Visit Britain website. Analyse data by age, purpose, duration, and quarter.

This dataset is no longer updated.

The British Museum was the most visited free tourist attraction in London in 2023, welcoming roughly 5.8 million visitors. While attendance at the renowned institution increased significantly over the previous year, the number of visitors remained below the figure reported before the COVID-19 pandemic. This was also the case with many other leading attractions, with only the National History Museum and the Royal Museums Greenwich having higher attendance in 2023 compared to 2019, among the listed attractions. Has tourism in London recovered from the impact of COVID-19? In 2023, the number of overseas visits to London exceeded 20 million. While inbound tourist visits experienced a sharp annual increase, they did not fully recovery yet from the impact of COVID-19. That said, expenditure by international visitors in the UK’s capital had more than recovered in 2023, reaching an all-time high that year. London’s contribution to inbound tourism in the UK Both before and after the pandemic, London was by far the most visited city in the UK by international tourists. When looking at the contribution to inbound tourism of leading European travel destinations, the city’s prominent role in supporting inbound tourism in the UK stands out. In 2023, London alone accounted for over half of inbound tourist arrivals in the country.

In 2023, the number of overseas resident visits to the United Kingdom totaled 38 million, representing a growth of over 20 percent from the previous year. The figure was projected to reach 38.7 million in 2024. Has the UK’s tourism industry completely recovered from the coronavirus pandemic? Like in most countries, the travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the UK’s tourism industry. Overseas visitor numbers dropped to 7.1 million in 2021, representing a drop of over 80 percent from 2019. While the figure reported for 2023 showed a continued recovery in terms of overseas visitors to the UK, it remained below pre-pandemic levels. However, in terms of spending among the UK’s leading inbound travel markets, most overseas visitors spent more in 2023 than in 2019, with visitors from the UK’s leading inbound travel market, the United States, spending around 50 percent more during their travels than in 2019. What are the most visited cities in the UK? Unsurprisingly, London consistently ranked as the most visited town or city in the UK among international tourists in recent years, drawing in 20.27 million visitors in 2023. This was around tenfold the number of the second-most visited city, Edinburgh, which received 2.32 million visitors during the same year. As the UK’s capital city, London’s tourist attractions are as varied as the city itself; however, one particularly strong draw for inbound visitors is Royal Family-related tourism. This is evident with the top two most visited paid tourist attractions in England being based in London and either belonging to the Royal Family or being run by a Royal-affiliated charity. Meanwhile, among UK residents, London ranks as the second most popular destination for a summer staycation, with the South West ranking first.

Focus on London 2000-2009 archive Focus on London 2009 Packed with interesting information about our capital city, the Focus on London (FoL) report offers a unique snapshot of life in London. The report is produced by the GLA's statistical department, Data Management Analysis Group (DMAG) in partnership with the London Development Agency, Office for National Statistics, London Health Observatory, Met Police, London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade. PDF In addition we’ve created a single dataset for the underlying data that support the report so that everyone can access the data. Excel Focus on London 2008 1 DECEMBER 2008 Focus on London 2008 covers a wide range of demographic, social and economic data, providing a statistical portrait of some of the key issues facing the capital. Produced by the Greater London Authority's statistical arm, Data Management Analysis Group (DMAG) it will be of interest to anyone who has a general interest in, or is carrying out research about, London. The report contains over 200 tables of the latest available data for London on several topics, conveniently presented in one place. This edition continues the series started in 1997. PDF Link to index of CSVs Focus on London 2007 JUNE 2007 This is the latest in a series of statistical publications for London going back over a hundred years and provides a digest of some of the key subjects affecting the capital. Jointly produced by the Greater London Authority and the Office for National Statistics, it brings together a wide range of demographic, social and economic datasets to provide a broad picture of London. Many of the tables, maps or charts in the report set London figures alongside those for the UK or England as a whole while several include data at individual borough level. PDF Focus on London 2003 Focus on London 2003 is a statistical digest bringing together a wide range of demographic, social, industrial and economic statistics to provide a comprehensive view of London. It is the product of a unique collaboration between the Office for National Statistics, the Government Office for London, the Greater London Authority and the London Development Agency. There are 12 chapters each focusing on a different aspect of London with key facts and figures: the overview, population, environment, housing, economy, labour market, education and training, living in London, tourism and leisure, travel and communications, public services and London government. PDF Focus on London 2000 Focus on London 2000 brings together statistical information from a wide variety of sources to paint a picture of our capital city today. It looks at changes over recent years and highlights differences between the boroughs, the Inner and Outer areas and the country as a whole. PDF

A London series by industry and a borough series (no industry) 1984 to 2011. These data have been used by GLA Economics to forecast long-term employment projections and within GLA Economics' models for exports, tourism and life sciences. The two series are: 1. London Employment Jobs: a London level series which includes Employee Jobs and Self-Employment Jobs from 1984 to 2010 with industries by GLA Economics sectors on a SIC 2007 basis 2. A borough level Employee Jobs series 1984 to 2010 (no industry breakdown) Methods and assumptions behind the data are explained in the GLA Economics Working Paper 52 Data Download Sector data Borough data Notes Borough Data Source: ONS Employee Jobs, ONS Business Surveys, GLA Economics assuptions Data are for employees and do not include self-employment jobs Data are adjusted for series discontinuities only - no additional corrections have been made 1998 data for Richmond and 2000 data for Greenwhich where employee increases are high have not been adjusted Sector Data Source: ONS Employee Jobs, LFS, GLA Economics assuptions 2010 data are provisional Data include employees and self-employment jobs Edit Workforce Sector Data from nomis - updated to Dec-2011 _ _

The direct contribution of travel and tourism to London's gross domestic product (GDP) was significantly lower in the first two years of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic compared to 2019. Due to the impact of the health crisis, these industries' direct contribution to GDP in the UK's capital amounted to *** billion British pounds in 2021, dropping by nearly ** percent from 2019. As forecast, this figure is expected to rebound to an estimated **** billion British pounds in 2022, denoting a sharp annual increase but remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

In 2023, spending on domestic overnight trips in Great Britain's capital, London, was around *** billion British pounds, this marks a decrease of around 100 million when compared to the year before, where spending peaked over the period considered.

In 2023, London played a prominent role in supporting international tourism in the United Kingdom. That year, the UK's capital accounted for roughly ** percent of all inbound tourist arrivals in the country. Meanwhile, Paris represented around ** percent of the international arrivals to France, whereas travelers to Barcelona made up ** percent of inbound tourist arrivals in Spain in 2023. What are the most visited European cities? When looking at the number of inbound tourist arrivals to leading travel destinations in Europe, Paris and Île-de-France, the region surrounding the French capital, recorded the highest figure in 2023, with nearly ** million arrivals. London and Istanbul, also among the leading city tourism destinations in Europe based on the number of bed nights, followed in the ranking that year, with over ** million and ** million inbound tourist arrivals, respectively. What are the most visited European countries? Both before and after the impact of the health crisis, France was the most visited European country by international travelers. In 2023, it reported *** million inbound arrivals, ranking ahead of Spain, Italy, and Turkey. On the other hand, Spain was the European country with the highest number of inbound tourism receipts, followed by the United Kingdom.

This statistic shows the economic contribution of tourism in London (UK) in 2013. London tourism economic contribution to the UK's GDP amounted to 36 billion British pounds that year. Personal travel, both domestic and outbound, contributed over 20 billion British pounds.

Total tourism expenditure from each survey and the amount attributable to T&OL activities.

The Libraries, Museums and Cultural Activities industry's revenue is forecast to increase at a compound annual rate of 0.2% over the five years through 2024-25 to £3.4 billion, including an expected hike of 4.3% in 2024-25. Increased tourism into the UK in 2023, according to VisitBritain figures, has pushed up revenue for museums and art galleries due to tourists being a key driver of demand. Many of the largest companies continue to invest in projects to increase footfall in their venues. For example, the National Trust and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds saw record levels of operating income and increased footfall in their venues following massive investments in 2023-24. At the same time, the industry is working harder to attract younger visitors through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, boosting revenue. In the face of government cuts, many cultural institutions have had to diversify their income sources to survive, turning to public-private partnerships, crowdfunding and corporate sponsorships. For example, the British Museum secured a £50 million sponsorship deal with BP in December 2023. The industry's dependence on labour has led to rising wage costs. Despite relying heavily on volunteers and unpaid interns, libraries, museums and cultural sites still require a significant amount of paid staff. The cost-of-living crisis prompted many staff members to seek higher wages. In December 2024, security guards at major London museums, like the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, went on strike for increased pay, seeking £16 per hour to cover living expenses. Further strikes followed in January. This upwards pressure on wage costs is expected to drive profit down in 2024-25 Over the five years through 2029-30, revenue is anticipated to creep upwards at a compound annual rate of 0.8% to reach £3.6 billion. Integrating technology and sustainability practices will be key drivers of future growth. Innovations in AR and VR will enhance visitor engagement and attract tech-savvy consumers. A commitment to sustainability, such as through carbon reduction, eco-friendly operations and green exhibitions, will align with evolving consumer expectations and regulatory requirements. These trends are set to improve public appeal and operational efficiency, securing future revenue growth.

This statistic displays the total travel spending of tourists on visits to London from 2008 to 2015. The spending increased steadily over this period. In 2015, total travel spending amounted to approximately 15 billion pounds.

The expenditure of international visitors in London was expected to rise by ** percent between 2023 and 2031. As forecast, spending of inbound tourists in the UK's capital was estimated to total roughly **** billion British pounds in 2023. This number was predicted to grow to nearly **** billion British pounds by 2031. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the international tourist expenditure in London reached in 2021 the lowest figure in over a decade.

The number of overnight stays by international visitors in London was forecast to rise by nearly ** percent between 2023 and 2031. As estimated, inbound tourists in the UK's capital are expected to spend roughly *** million nights in 2023. This number was predicted to increase to around ***** million by 2031. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, inbound overnight stays in London reached in 2021 the lowest figure in over a decade.

This statistic displays a forecast for domestic tourist spending in London (UK) in hospitality and leisure in 2013 and 2017, by category. Eating out saw the highest amount of spending by domestic tourists in 2013 at over 4.9 billion British pounds, forecasted to rise to over 6 billion British pounds in 2017.