North American numbers were up by 16% on the same month a year earlier, while Western European visits fell by 2% and those from elsewhere rose by 20%.The amount they all spent fell by 1% to £990m.

During the final three months of 2003 there was a 6% increase in visits to 6.09 million, but spending fell by 1% to £2.81b.For 2003 as a whole, visits were up by 2% to 24.7 million and spending remained static at £11.8b.

VistiBritain, the former British Tourist Authority, forecast that the volume of inbound tourism would increase by 3.3% in 2004, taking the total number of visitors to 25.5 million.The value of inbound tourism is forecast to grow by 3.4% in 2004 to £12.3b.

North American numbers were up by 16% on the same month a year earlier, while Western European visits fell by 2% and those from elsewhere rose by 20%.The amount they all spent fell by 1% to £990m.

During the final three months of 2003 there was a 6% increase in visits to 6.09 million, but spending fell by 1% to £2.81b.For 2003 as a whole, visits were up by 2% to 24.7 million and spending remained static at £11.8b.

VistiBritain, the former British Tourist Authority, forecast that the volume of inbound tourism would increase by 3.3% in 2004, taking the total number of visitors to 25.5 million.The value of inbound tourism is forecast to grow by 3.4% in 2004 to £12.3b.