London Is Booming

The boom continues.

During the second quarter of 2015, the Office for National Statistics International Passenger survey reports that the city of London welcomed 5.1 million international visitors during the April to June period, which is 6% more than the same period in 2014 and stands as a new record.

Tourist spending over the same period was up by 8% compared with the second quarter of 2014. Over the past five years (2009 to 2014), the number of overseas visitors coming to London has risen by 22.5%.

And the national picture was also positive with the United Kingdom attracting 9.9 million international visitors from April to June 2015 – a 5% increase over the same period in 2014. More than half of those international visitors went to London. As well, tourist spending across the UK grew by 7% during the second quarter.

MasterCard’s Global Cities Index report forecasts that London will host 18.82 million international visitors in 2015 – putting it ahead of both Bangkok and Paris.

Tracy Halliwell, director of business tourism & major events at London & Partners, the capital’s official promotional organization, observed: “These positive figures bode well for another year of strong leisure and business visitor numbers and spend across the city’s hotels, venues, restaurants and attractions. We constantly look for new ways to build and grow the city’s leisure and business tourism offer which supports tens of thousands of jobs across the capital.”