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.

In 2024, there were approximately ******* UK visitors that arrived in Indonesia. The number of international visitor arrivals in Indonesia increased significantly compared to 2022, indicating a strong recovery in the tourism industry from the impact of the pandemic.

In 2023, the United Kingdom was the leading inbound travel market in Berlin based on the number of arrivals. That year, tourist arrivals from the UK reached around 465,000. While this figure increased sharply over the previous year, it did not recover yet from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the United States ranked second in 2023, with nearly 430,000 arrivals.

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.

Portugal’s touristic influx has led foreign nationals into the country, particularly from European nations. International tourists visiting Portugal, in 2024, mostly originated from the United Kingdom, numbering almost *** million. In second place, Spain registered over **** million visitors to Portugal, while the United States recorded more than **** million travelers. There were regional preferences for international tourists Portugal presented regional differences when it came to the countries of origin of international visitors. In the Algarve, the country’s third most visited region by foreigners, British, German, and Irish nationals were the biggest groups of foreign tourists. The United Kingdom was accountable for over *** million visitors in the region during 2024. In the autonomous region of Madeira, German travelers dominated, with *** thousand overnight visitors. British, French, and Polish nationals followed in the archipelago. The travel and tourism sector showed signs of revival after the coronavirus pandemic Overnight stays by international tourists in Portugal were numbered at **** million in 2022, which represented a large recovery after the years of impaired tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). This number surpassed pre-pandemic values in 2024. However, the inbound expenditure of foreign tourists was, in 2022, the highest ever. In Portugal, non-national visitors spent over ** million euros during that year, which meant a ** percent increase compared to 2019.

Over *** million visitors to Australia were residents of New Zealand in the year ended June 2024. Visitors from China were the second most prevalent visitor group at just below *******. These numbers represented an increase from the previous year, indicating a recovery from the slump caused by coronavirus pandemic-related travel restrictions worldwide in 2020 and 2021. Why do people visit Australia? From the beautiful beaches on the Gold Coast to the city streets of Sydney, Australia is a popular destination among international and domestic tourists alike. In the 2024 financial year, the majority of visitors to Australia came for a vacation or to see their family or friends living in the country. Around ***** million visited for a holiday, and a little over ******* traveled to the country for business purposes. How much do international visitors spend when in Australia? Total trip expenditure of international visitors contributed about ** billion Australian dollars to the country’s economy in 2024. This marked a rise in spending from the previous year and exceeded pre-pandemic levels, in which international visitor spending came in at around **** billion Australian dollars in 2019. In financial year 2024, those who visited the country for holiday purposes accounted for the highest trip expenditure of international visitor arrivals to Australia by purpose, at approximately **** billion Australian dollars. The second-highest spenders were visitors who went to Australia for education; they spent over **** billion Australian dollars that year.

In 2023, approximately ** million international tourists visited the Canary Islands in Spain, which represents an increase of roughly ** percent versus the previous year. In *****, the record number of visitors in this Spanish archipelago was set in 2017.

Eight islands with lots of options for tourists

The Canary Islands, or the Canaries, are a group of islands off the Northwestern coast of Africa and one of Spain’s ** autonomous communities. The archipelago is made up of eight inhabited islands: Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa. Tenerife is most visited island, followed by Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, all popular vacation travel destinations, especially for European holidaymakers.

Main source markets

The Canaries are the third most visited Spanish region after the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. The UK and Germany are two key visitor markets for the islands. Along with France they make up the three leading international tourist markets visiting Spain. Spanish residents also commonly visit the islands for domestic trips (494520).

As with arrivals of international tourists, the visitor expenditure has increased significantly due to a rapid recovery from the coronavirus crisis. In 2022, foreign tourists who visited the Canary Islands spent more than they did in 2019.