Tourism in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom recorded a total of 38.23 million international tourists and an additional 801,735 foreign same-day visitors in 2024.Without taking into account the size of the country, such a ranking may not be very meaningful. If you convert the total number of tourists to the number of inhabitants of the United Kingdom, a somewhat more comparable picture emerges: With 0.56 travelers per inhabitant, the United Kingdom ranked in the lower middle range in a global comparison.
Back to overview: United Kingdom
Development of the tourism sector in the United Kingdom 1995 to 2024
The following two charts show the number of foreign tourists registered in the United Kingdom each year. The first chart shows the development of tourists who spent at least one night in the country. Insofar as the survey also included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism purposes have already been filtered out. Short-term stays of transiting crew members of ships or airplane crews are also not considered tourism. If the same person travels in and out several times within a year, each visit counts again.All figures in both charts in millions of tourists.
Tourists with overnight stay
Same day tourists
Same day tourists are anyone who departs on the same day and does not book accommodation in a hotel or other accommodation establishment. Here too, multiple entries by the same person are counted more than once. Business travelers and crews of ships and airplanes are also not counted as tourists. The data prior to 2010 should be treated with caution as there were no standardized survey methods until then.The most popular city in the United Kingdom for travelers is London. In 2025, it reached the 18th place of the world's most popular cities. Although Edinburgh does not occupy a top position either, it has repeatedly achieved high visitor numbers in recent years.Worldwide comparisons:
› International tourism
› List of safest travel countries
Culture, nature and an eventful royal family
The United Kingdom attracts millions of tourists from all over the world every year. It has a rich cultural history and is known for its impressive historical sites, castles, cathedrals and museums. Places like Stonehenge, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey are popular attractions. Above all, the capital city of London is a cultural center and one of the most visited cities in the world. Visitors here can experience famous attractions such as Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, Big Ben and the London Eye. The British Royal Family is an attraction for many tourists. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and the royal residences like Windsor Castle are always popular destinations. Besides London, there are also many other historic cities, such as Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge, York and Bath, which have a lot of history as well.In addition, the United Kingdom offers a picturesque landscape with green hills, scenic coastlines, lakes and national parks. The Lake District, the Cairngorms National Park and the white chalk cliffs of Dover are just a few examples of the country's natural beauty. The imposing landscapes of the Scottish Highlands have not only become famous through James Bond.
Economic importance of tourism for the United Kingdom
In 1995, income from tourism amounted to 20.49 billion dollars, or around 1.5 percent of gross national product. In addition, there were 7.09 billion dollars for passenger transportation to the country, e.g. flight costs if a domestic airline was used. With around 23.54 million tourists at the time, this corresponded to around 870 dollars per person (including day visitors). Within 29 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased noticeably. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales accounted for 2.0% of gross national product at USD 58.43 billion. This means that each visitor spent an average of 1,430 dollars on their vacation in the United Kingdom.In 2020, sales to tourists collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic pandemic. Only 29.35 billion dollars remained from the 58.43 billion dollars of the year 2019. This is a decrease of 50 percent in the United Kingdom. In 2024, revenue amounted to 84.55 billion dollars. This is already 44.70 percent above the previous level. The most recent revenue per tourist was 2,166 US dollars.
A total of 3.80 million people, or 5.5 percent of all residents, are also directly employed in the tourism industry (2021). In addition, there are numerous industries that are heavily dependent on travelers but are not primarily tourism-related.
Revenue excluding passenger transportation in billions of US dollars:
Conversely, of course, residents from the United Kingdom also travel abroad. In 2024, 91.43 million stays abroad were registered, 824,205 of which were shorter day trips.
All data for the United Kingdom in detail
| Year | Overnight tourists | Same day tourists | Receipts | % of GNP | Revenues per tourist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 38.23 m | 0.80 m | 84,546.89 m $ | 2.3 % | 2,166 $ |
| 2023 | 37.21 m | 0.74 m | 73,509.47 m $ | 2.1 % | 1,937 $ |
| 2022 | 30.74 m | 0.50 m | 67,598.63 m $ | 2.1 % | 2,164 $ |
| 2021 | 6.29 m | 0.10 m | 37,790.49 m $ | 1.2 % | 5,920 $ |
| 2020 | 10.71 m | 0.39 m | 29,346.95 m $ | 1.1 % | 2,644 $ |
| 2019 | 39.42 m | 1.44 m | 58,430.00 m $ | 2.0 % | 1,430 $ |
| 2018 | 38.66 m | 1.62 m | 56,043.00 m $ | 1.9 % | 1,391 $ |
| 2017 | 39.54 m | 1.54 m | 54,912.00 m $ | 2.0 % | 1,337 $ |
| 2016 | 37.36 m | 1.77 m | 53,026.00 m $ | 2.0 % | 1,355 $ |
| 2015 | 35.15 m | 1.64 m | 55,839.00 m $ | 1.9 % | 1,518 $ |
| 2014 | 33.60 m | 1.73 m | 56,748.00 m $ | 1.8 % | 1,606 $ |
| 2013 | 31.95 m | 1.62 m | 50,498.00 m $ | 1.8 % | 1,504 $ |
| 2012 | 30.41 m | 1.81 m | 45,398.00 m $ | 1.7 % | 1,409 $ |
| 2011 | 30.38 m | 1.50 m | 42,742.00 m $ | 1.6 % | 1,340 $ |
| 2010 | 28.91 m | 1.49 m | 38,567.00 m $ | 1.5 % | 1,269 $ |
| 2009 | 29.36 m | 1.72 m | 37,072.00 m $ | 1.5 % | 1,193 $ |
| 2008 | 30.14 m | 1.75 m | 41,470.00 m $ | 1.4 % | 1,300 $ |
| 2007 | 30.87 m | 1.91 m | 44,970.00 m $ | 1.4 % | 1,372 $ |
| 2006 | 30.65 m | 2.06 m | 40,160.00 m $ | 1.5 % | 1,228 $ |
| 2005 | 28.04 m | 1.93 m | 34,252.00 m $ | 1.3 % | 1,143 $ |
| 2004 | 25.68 m | 2.08 m | 32,114.00 m $ | 1.3 % | 1,157 $ |
| 2003 | 22.79 m | 1.93 m | 26,057.00 m $ | 1.3 % | 1,054 $ |
| 2002 | 22.31 m | 1.87 m | 23,708.00 m $ | 1.3 % | 980 $ |
| 2001 | 20.98 m | 1.85 m | 21,712.00 m $ | 1.3 % | 951 $ |
| 2000 | 23.21 m | 2.00 m | 23,569.00 m $ | 1.4 % | 935 $ |
| 1999 | 23.34 m | 2.05 m | 24,007.00 m $ | 1.4 % | 945 $ |
| 1998 | 23.71 m | 2.04 m | 23,689.00 m $ | 1.4 % | 920 $ |
| 1997 | 23.22 m | 2.30 m | 22,586.00 m $ | 1.4 % | 885 $ |
| 1996 | 22.94 m | 2.23 m | 21,389.00 m $ | 1.5 % | 850 $ |
| 1995 | 21.72 m | 1.82 m | 20,487.00 m $ | 1.5 % | 870 $ |
Data basis
Our data comes from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations organization that collects tourism data from individual countries every year. This data is then validated and homogenized to make it internationally comparable. However, the World Tourism Organization points out that in some countries the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others it is also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable figure is therefore hardly possible in any country, but can only be estimated.Note on transport costs:
The WTO divides cash flows into amounts spent by travelers within the United Kingdom and passenger transport costs, if these can be attributed to the destination country. So if someone travels from USA to the United Kingdom with an airline from their own country, these costs are also recorded in the United States. If, on the other hand, they take an airline from the United Kingdom, the money flows from USA to the United Kingdom and is counted there. This is purely for economic reasons, to measure the travel industry's income and expenditure per country. It is irrelevant to the WTO how much the traveler has spent in total.