The number of international visitors coming to Britain increased by 28% in May when compared with the same month in 2003, but the amount they spent rose by just 8%.
There were 2.33 million visitor arrivals in May this year, of which 380,000 were from the USA, an increase of 8%.
More than 1.5 million arrived from western Europe, an increase of 28%, while 450,000 came from the rest of the world, a 54% rise.
They spent just more than £1b between them.
During the three months to the end of May, visits were up by 22% to 6.54 million and spending up by 10% to £2.71b.
Over those three months, North American visitors increased by 17%, those from western Europe by 21% and from the rest of the world by 30%.
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