27 November 2003

Even though the figures were for the pre-Beckham era, Spain has pipped France to the title of the most-visited country by British tourists.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday that the number of trips to Spain in 2002 increased by 6.2% to 12.5 million, while visits to France increased by just 1.3% to 12.1 million.

In terms of money spent by tourists, Spain is way ahead. It took more than £5 billion from British tourists, who stayed in the country for 11 nights on average. By contrast, the average visit to France lasted just five nights and the corresponding “spend” was £3.6 billion.

The Irish Republic overtook the USA as the third most popular destination as visits to the States continued to decrease. Visits to the USA fell by 9.7% in 2002.

In all, Britons made more than 59 million overseas visits last year, spending a record £27 billion on their travels.

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