A record 40m overseas visitors are expected to have visited the UK during 2017, according to a forecast from VisitBritain.
The tourism body predicts overseas trips to the UK will increase 6% to 39.7m with spending up 14% to £25.7bn this year.
During the first six months of the year there were a record 23.1m overseas visits to the UK - up 8% on the same period in 2016 - and the figures for July topped 4m for the first time, with only a slightly smaller number of visits made during August.
Britain’s beaches and attractions have also attracted more domestic users with “staycations” on the rise.
From January to June this year, domestic overnight holidays in England rose 7% to a record 20.4m with visitors spending £4.6bn - a rise of 17% and another record.
On Monday, figures from trade body UK Finance showed UK tourists’ debit card spending when abroad was down sharply compared with last summer, providing more evidence of the trend towards holidaying at home.
