Overseas visitors to Britain

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Five key insights

The UK is the sixth most-visited destination by international tourists but is losing market share.
Built heritage, cultural heritage and contemporary culture are core to Britain’s offering, with shopping and watching sport popular activities.
Britain is a vital cog in the global aviation network, but competitor destinations across Asia and the Middle East are investing heavily in expanding their own connectivity and aviation infrastructure.
Tourists are increasingly demanding authentic experiences and are going the extra mile to find value for money; user-generated web content underpins this trend.
Outbound travel from countries in developing parts of the world is growing rapidly, but international travel is primarily intra-regional rather than inter-regional, so western European markets continue to offer growth potential for Britain’s inbound visitor economy.

Global tourism declined in 2009, with 40 million fewer international tourist arr...