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.

The number of visits by overseas residents to the United Kingdom gradually recovered in 2022, after falling sharply with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As of September 2023, inbound tourist visits to the UK totaled roughly 3.1 million, which was an increase from September in the previous year and was only marginally less than pre-pandemic levels for the same month. Over the period considered, visits by overseas tourists to the United Kingdom peaked at 4.4 million in August 2019.

Tourist Arrivals in the United Kingdom remained unchanged at 3500 Thousand in September. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Tourist Arrivals- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In 2023, the United States was the leading inbound travel market for the United Kingdom based on the number of visits. That year, the UK reported approximately 5.12 million inbound trips from the U.S., surpassing the figures recorded in 2019 and 2022. In total, the number of inbound visits in the UK reach nearly 40 million in 2023.

Key information about United Kingdom Visitor Arrivals

• United Kingdom Visitor Arrivals grew 21.5 % in Dec 2023, compared with an increase of 389.5 % in the previous year
• United Kingdom Visitor Arrivals Growth rate data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1981 to Dec 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 389.5 % in Dec 2022 and a record low of -72.8 % in Dec 2020

• In the latest reports, United Kingdom Visitor Arrivals recorded 37,960,000.0 person in the year of Dec 2023
• Tourism Revenue of United Kingdom reached 2.8 USD bn in Dec 2023, a decrease of 6.9 % change from the previous month

The number of visits abroad from the United Kingdom grew in 2023 over the previous year, reaching close to *** million trips. That year, the most common purpose for travelling abroad for UK residents was for holiday purposes, with over ** million trips made for this reason.

Key information about United Kingdom Visitor Arrivals

• United Kingdom Visitor Arrivals recorded 37,960,000 person in Dec 2023, compared with 31,245,000 person in the previous year
• United Kingdom Visitor Arrivals data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1980 to Dec 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 41,080,214 person in Dec 2017 and a record low of 6,383,000 person in Dec 2021

International tourism, receipts (current US$) in United Kingdom was reported at 48515000000 USD in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - International tourism, receipts - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

In September 2023, visits abroad from the United Kingdom totaled roughly 9.4 million, which was an increase on September in the previous year and was only marginally less than pre-pandemic levels for the same month. Over the period considered, monthly outbound visits from the UK peaked at around 11.6 million in August 2019. Tourism in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic turned the global tourism industry upside down, with countries worldwide enacting lockdowns and travel bans to limit the spread of the virus. As a result of the emergency measures, the total number of outbound tourist visits from the United Kingdom declined by 74 percent in 2020 over the previous year, then dropped even further in 2021, reaching the lowest figure in a decade. 2022 saw a partial recovery, however, levels still remained below what was recorded before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the impact of the health crisis on inbound tourist visits in the UK was even harder, with the country recording just 6.4 million visits from abroad in 2021. Contribution of travel and tourism to the economy in the UK In 2022, the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in the UK amounted to roughly 237.1 billion British pounds, which was around 5 percent lower than before the pandemic. That year, the travel and tourism industries supported around 3.6 million jobs in the country. Even in this case, however, travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in the UK did not catch up with the figure reported in 2019.

Provisional annual inbound, outbound and domestic expenditure on tourism, internal tourism consumption and employment for the tourism industries.

Annual estimates of visits and spending by UK residents abroad. Also includes data on nights, purpose, main country visited and mode of travel. Breakdowns by length of stay and nationality are covered. In 2019, new methods were introduced for this dataset. The 2009 to 2019 edition supersedes all previous time series editions of this dataset. We advise against using all editions listed before the 2019 edition.

International tourism, number of arrivals in United Kingdom was reported at 11101000 in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - International tourism, number of arrivals - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Forecast: Tourism International Receipts in the UK 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

In 2023, international tourism expenditure in the United Kingdom rose by 17 percent over the previous year, reaching 31.1 billion British pounds. This marked the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic that inbound tourist spending exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Spending was forecast to continue to grow in 2024.

Key information about United Kingdom Tourism Revenue Growth

• United Kingdom Tourism Revenue dropped 13.5 % YoY in Dec 2023, compared with a decrease of -6.6 % YoY in the previous month
• United Kingdom Tourism Revenue Growth rate data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1981 to Dec 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 1,427.0 % in Apr 2022 and a record low of -97.8 % in Jul 2020

In 2023, the share of travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in European Union member countries and the United Kingdom remained in most cases below the figures reported before the COVID-19 pandemic, but showed strong signs of recovery. Overall, Croatia was the EU country where travel and tourism contributed the highest share of gross domestic product in 2023. That year, these industries generated, directly and indirectly, nearly 26 percent of the country's GDP. Portugal and Greece followed in the ranking in 2023, with travel and tourism representing 19.6 percent and 19.2 percent of GDP, respectively.

International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in United Kingdom was reported at 19098000000 USD in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - International tourism, receipts for travel items - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.