UK tourism soars 20% as weak pound sterling makes Britain more attractive despite terror attacks

More people made trips to the UK between April and June than in any other quarter since records began in 1980

VisitBritain, the organisation which promotes tourism in the country, has increased its forecasts for visitor numbers this year (EPA)

A record number of tourists visited the UK between April and June as the weak pound made the country more attractive to foreign visitors despite a series of terror attacks.

Official figures released on Friday showed 10.75 million people made trips to the UK in the second quarter – 8 per cent more than in the same period last year and the most for any quarter since records began in 1980.

The number of people coming to the UK for a holiday soared by 20 per cent in the period while business trips were down 4 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.

A significant proportion of the increase was down to a 29 per cent jump in visits from North America. The number of European visitors was up by 3 per cent.

The pound’s tumbling value against the euro and the dollar since last June’s Brexit vote has made the UK cheaper for visitors from overseas who spent a record £6.2bn in the UK over the three months – 8 per cent more than in April to June last year.

Britons also made more trips abroad than ever, with 19.09 million travelling overseas, despite the weakened pound making foreign travel more expensive. The figure is a record for the time of year, though less than in the peak summer period of July to September.

There was no evidence in the data that deadly attacks on London and Manchester had deterred visitors, an ONS statistician said.

VisitBritain, the organisation which promotes tourism in the country, has increased its forecasts for visitor numbers this year.

It reported that flight bookings for July to September had increased by 9 per cent on last year.

“This continued growth demonstrates the industry’s increasing importance as a key driver of economic growth,” VisitBritain’s director, Patricia Yates, said.