Want a snapshot of UK tourism? Let us be your guide.
We’ve curated a treasure trove of the most recent statistics, facts, and trends for 2026.
Top UK Tourism Statistics (Editor’s Picks)
- In 2024, London had 20.95M visits.
- The UK saw 42.6M visitors in 2024.
- The UK’s travel and tourism sector contributed approximately £280–286B to the economy in 2024, representing about 10% of the UK’s total GDP.
- The UK’s travel market was expected to reach £45.08B in 2025.
- The UK saw about 5.59M visits from the US in 2024, making it the top inbound market.
UK Travel and Tourism Market Size and Spend
- Travel and tourism supported 4.2M jobs in the UK.
- In the UK travel and tourism market, hotels led all segments by revenue, generating about $21.6B in 2024.
- In 2024, international tourism spending in the United Kingdom reached £31.9B.
- The United States was the UK’s top inbound market by tourism spend in 2024, with Americans spending about $7.26B.
- Spending on trips abroad by UK residents reached £78.63B in 2024.
Travel Volumes and Visitor Flows
- In 2024, outbound tourism by UK residents reached about 90.1M trips.
- UK residents made about 63.44M trips to EU countries in 2024.
- Spain was the top destination for UK residents in 2024, attracting about 17.77M visits.
- The UK recorded about 39M overseas visits in 2024.
- Overseas visitors spent about 293.37M nights in the UK in 2024.
- In 2023, EU countries accounted for approximately 59% of all inbound visits to the UK, down from around 61% in 2022.
Transport, Accommodation, and Tourism Experiences
- The British Museum was the UK’s most visited attraction in 2024, with nearly 6.5M visits.
- Premier Inn leads UK hotel brands with a 75% positive rating as of Q3 2025.
| Leading Hotel Brands in the UK (as of Q3 2025) | Share of People Who Have a Positive Opinion of a Hotel Brand |
| Premier Inn | 75 |
| Walt Disney Parks and Resorts | 59 |
| Travelodge | 57 |
| Holiday Inn | 50 |
| Marriott | 49 |
- Music tourism in the UK rose 22% in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching a peak of about 23.5M attendees, including domestic and overseas visitors.
- British Airways is the most popular airline in the UK, with a 58% positive rating as of the third quarter of 2025.
| Leading Air Carriers in the UK (as of Q3 2025) | In % |
| British Airways | 58 |
| Virgin Atlantic | 54 |
| TUI Airways | 50 |
| EasyJet | 50 |
| Jet2.com | 48 |
- UK-based airlines carried about 139.6M passengers in 2024, up from roughly 129.4M in 2023.
- Heathrow Airport was the UK’s busiest airport in 2023, handling about 79.2M passengers, more than Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport combined.
Learn More
Looking for more statistics? Check out these:
- US Tourism Statistics
- Known & Unknown Facts About America
- Cruise Industry Statistics
- Interesting Facts About Airplanes & Air Travel
- Online Travel Booking Statistics
- Vacation Rental Statistics
- Vacation Sex Statistics
- Statistics on How Social Media Affects Travel
- Tourism in Europe Statistics
- Tripadvisor Statistics
- Sustainable Travel Statistics
- Hospitality Industry Statistics
- Adventure Tourism Statistics
- Airline Industry Statistics
- International Tourism Statistics
- Bleisure Statistics
- Fun Facts About Traveling
- Airbnb Statistics
- Travel Statistics
- Workation Statistics
- Cruise Industry Statistics
- Business Travel Statistics
- Car Rental Statistics
Sources
- ALVA, “Visits Made to Attractions in the UK”
- Civil Aviation Authority, “Annual Airport Data”
- Office for National Statistics (ONS), “Travel Trends”
- Savills, “Spotlight: Rural Tourism and Leisure”
- Statista, “Top Inbound Travel Markets in the UK by Visits”
- Statista, “Travel & Tourism – United Kingdom”
- Statista, “Travel and Tourism in the United Kingdom”
- UK Music, “Here, There and Everywhere”
- VisitBritain, “Inbound Data”
- VisitBritain, “Inbound Data”
- World Travel & Tourism Council, “United Kingdom Annual Research: Key Highlights”
- YouGov, “The Most Popular Hotel Brands in the UK”
- YouGov, “The Most Popular Airlines in the UK”
As a Digital PR specialist and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Max has 5+ years of writing experience.
Over the course of his career, Max’s work has garnered significant attention, with features in numerous prominent publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Inc., Business Insider, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, BBC, TechRepublic, Glassdoor, and G2.
