MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Weak pound helps to boost tourists visiting UK by 21.1%, in first quarter
Overall there were a record 8.3 million visits in the quarter. The visitors spent £4.4bn while in the country, also a record amount. The weakness of sterling was behind a surge in the number of tourists visiting the UK in the first three months of 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The number of holidaymakers coming to the UK rose by 21.1%, although the number of business visitors declined.
Overall there were a record 8.3 million visits in the quarter, a rise of nearly 10% on the same period in 2016. The visitors spent £4.4bn while in the country, also a record amount.
But at the same time the fall in the value of the pound did not discourage Britons from travelling overseas. UK residents made 14.1 million trips abroad over the three months, a rise of 8.1% on 2016.
The decline in sterling makes it cheaper for foreign visitors to come to the UK, but more expensive for Britons going the other way.
The number of US visitors was particularly significant. Their numbers were up by 16%, while their spending grew 29% to £604m.
There were a record 54,000 visits from Chinese nationals, who spent a record £91m, and there was strong growth in the number of Australian and French visitors too.
Wales appears to have been one of the most popular destinations, with the number of overnight visits increasing by 28%.
But the “visitor balance of payments” remains tilted against the UK. While visitors spent £4.4bn in Britain over the quarter, Britons spent nearly twice as much - £8.6bn - on trips abroad. a figure that has risen by 11.7% over the past year.
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Read all commentsThe question is why is this piece appearing in Mercopenguin, a British government propaganda organ supposedly devoted to America, South America and the “South Atlantic”?
Jul 17th, 2017 - 06:05 am 0@Kipper Total rubbish from you once again. If you check out the “About MercoPress” link you will see the following.
Jul 17th, 2017 - 07:12 pm 0“MercoPress is an independent news agency started in 1993 which focuses on delivering news related to the Mercosur trade and political bloc, and member countries, covering an area of influence which includes South America, the South Atlantic and insular territories.
Based in Montevideo, Uruguay, it leverages the city's double advantage of housing the administrative headquarters for Mercosur as well as being a historic natural port of access to the South Atlantic and the vast marine and mineral resources of an area locked by Africa, South America and Antarctica.”
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