The UK has seen an increase in visits from China, and is ready to welcome more visitors ahead of Chinese New Year.
The UK saw strong growth from China during the first nine months of 2017, with spending up 48 per cent and visits up 33 per cent.
VisitBritain is estimating full year figures of about 330,000 visits and spending of about £667 million.
Forecasts for 2018 are predicting about 349,000 visits from China to the UK with visitors spending about £722 million.
Visits from China to the UK more than doubled in the decade to 2016.
Chinese New Year, which gets underway on February 16th, is a prime time for travel for the Chinese, and the UK is gearing up to host some of
the largest celebrations outside Asia.
From three days of celebrations in Liverpool, parades in Manchester and lion dances in Birmingham, to festivals and performances in Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle Gateshead and the Isle of Wight, as well as London’s Chinatown and Trafalgar Square, there are a host of events across the UK.
VisitBritain director Patricia Yates said: “We want the UK to be the destination of choice for visitors from China, the world’s most valuable outbound market.
“We’re building on the growth we have seen, launching a new campaign in China showcasing that Britain is bursting with fun activities and wonderfully unexpected experiences all year round.
“And we are working with commercial partners such as BA and Ctrip to convert the inspiration to visit into bookings, making it easier to travel here and explore more of the UK, driving our ambitious plans for growth.”
Chinese visitors are some of the UK’s highest spenders, spending on average £1,972 during their visit, more than three times the all market average.
They also stay longer on their holidays in Britain than other international visitors, averaging ten nights compared to six for other markets.
