International figures for April 2013 have seen a majestic 13 per cent rise in visitor spend within the UK, despite a one per cent drop in visitor numbers.
It comes as Britain attempts to keep up momentum from the picture boost of hosting the 2012 Games.
The results mean that over the yr to April 2013 there was record spend (in nominal terms) of £19.19 billion.
The 2.88 million visits for the month is a slight decrease from a robust 2012, although around the first four months of 2013 there were one per cent more visits than inside the same period in 2012.
Of the overseas visitors who came here in April, there have been record levels from remainder of world markets – together with the likes of giant spending Australia, Brazil, China and the UAE.
This implies that there has been an encouraging nine per cent change in April, and leaves these highly fashionable markets nine per cent higher in 2013 up to now.
Visits from Europe around the first four months of 2013 are higher, with one per cent growth in visits from the main EU15 markets.
Visits from non EU European markets have slowed slightly but remain at a record level over the one year to April 2013.
North American visits saw a seven per cent drop in April, resulting in a four per cent drop for the year to this point.
Looking at visitor profiles, Business visits in April show continued growth, up eight per cent from 2012.
In the primary four months of 2013 Business and VFR visits were higher than the identical period in 2012, both showing the strongest begin to a year since 2008.
Holiday visits within the first few months of the year are just below (down three per cent) the 2012 record.
Sandie Dawe, VisitBritain chief executive, said: “While these latest figures indicate that we’re on the right track with our 2013 forecast, it’s clear that we’re fighting hard to extend visitor numbers against better resourced competition who recognise that inbound tourism can deliver economic growth and jobs in a hard climate.
“The USA, still Britain’s most respected source of overseas visitors, continues to struggle. We simply haven’t got the resources currently to arrest that.
“Like others within the public sector, we’re creating a strong case for extra funding throughout the Spending Review.
“Our GREAT campaign is having a favorable impact, but we mustn’t ever be complacent.
“We must continue to make further inroads in key inbound markets if we’re to extend visitor numbers to 40 million a year by 2020.
“The world travel picture remains highly competitive and our GREAT activity is building good momentum on what it’s that makes Britain any such wonderful destination, especially at a time when other countries are dramatically raising their game and their funding.”