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Tourism

Volume 450: debated on Tuesday 10 October 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists visited England in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. (89064)

The following tables set out the number of visits to England from (i) overseas and (ii) the UK where this included an overnight stay.

Inbound visits to England by year

million

Visits (all)

1997

19.6

1998

19.9

1999

21.5

2000

21.5

2001

19.3

2002

20.5

2003

21.2

2004

23.6

2005

25.3

Source:

International Passenger Survey (ONS)

Domestic overnight trips in England by year

million

Visits (all)

1997

125.6

1998

115.4

1999

137.7

2000

140.4

2001

131.9

2002

134.9

2003

121.3

2004

101.4

2005

111.2

Source:

UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards).

The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred due to concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which is thought to be an under-representation of the true position.

In addition, a substantial number of day visits are made to, or within, England. The last leisure day visits survey in 2002-03 recorded a total of over 900 million tourism day visits to destinations in England.