The table below shows the number of visitors in the UK and their average spending from 2003 to 2008

The table illustrates how many visitors the UK received, along with average spending and duration between 2003 and 2008.

Overall, it is clear that there were significant → general rises in visitor numbers, total spending figures and the averages spent per visit. Meanwhile, the average length of visit increased slightly in the first three years, followed by a marginal fall.

To begin with, tourist numbers rose significantly from 24.715 in 2003 to a peak of 32.778 in 2007, while total spending, despite a small dip in 2007, peaked in 2008, at 16.323, compared to 11.855 in 2003. These averages generally correlated with average spending per visit, ranging from 475 in 2003 to 511 in 2008, but it is important to note that it dropped slightly in the second year, reaching a low of 466.

It is worth highlighting that the length of stay reached a high of 8.4 nights per visit (in 2006), which correlated strongly with the biggest rise in total spending from 2003 to 2006. However, in 2007 and 2008, the duration of visit fell to 7.7, but the aggregate spending figures and average spending per tourist still hit a high in 2008, as seen above.