VisitBritain, Britain’s national tourism agency, has published its tourism forecast for 2024.

The forecast shows an increase in inbound visits and spending overall to the UK compared to 2023 levels, although with “varying rates” of recovery and growth across its major inbound visitor markets.

VisitBritain’s overall forecast for spending by international visitors in the UK in 2024 is £34.1 billion, up 7% on the spending predicted in 2023 and up 20% on 2019, although 96% of 2019 levels when adjusted for inflation.

VisitBritain is expecting the US market to be worth £6.7 billion in 2024 with American visitors contributing almost £1 in every £5 of all inbound spending.

China, the UK’s second most valuable inbound market in 2019, has continued to build back with visitor numbers increasing throughout 2023, although overall East Asia has been relatively slower to recover. VisitBritain is expecting China to recover to a value of £1.7 billion in 2024 to be the UK’s fourth most valuable inbound visitor market.