V
isitors to Britain splashed the cash in July, spending just about £1.8 billion.
The Office for National Statistics said the spending spree was from both tourists and those on business trips. It was a hike of 2% over that spent in July 2015.
At the same time, Brits travelling abroad spent £3.55 billion during July, a drop of just 1% on the previous July.
The findings are the first official figures on tourism since the Brexit vote which weakened sterling. Getting more pounds for their currencies, visitors to the UK could spend more but holidays became pricier for Brits travelling abroad.
The ONS has warned against reading too much into any one month’s figures. In this latest release on tourism, it made no mention of the effects of the referendum.
The number of visits to the UK in July by foreigners was 3.07 million. UK residents made 5.79 million visits abroad.
