Visits to the UK reached a record number in 2013.
A record of 32.89 visits were made, an increase of 6% over 2012. The previous high record was in 2007 when 32.78 million visits took place.
The visits included 12.78m for holiday purposes - a 7% jump from the 2012 figure - while the number of business trips also rose 7% to 7.93m.
Spending on these visits increased by 13% to a record £20.99 billion, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. This too was at an all-time high level.
VisitBritain welcomed the surge past the “£20bn barrier for the very first time” and added “we've broken records for holidaymakers and visitors from key growth markets such as China and South Korea.”
Meanwhile, residents of the UK chalked up 58.03 visits abroad last year, a 3% increase over 2012. In total they spent 7% more than in 2012 or £34.67bn.
