Tourism 'boosts economy by £81bn'

The London Eye was the top fee-charging attraction

The UK economy benefited from tourism to the tune of £81.5bn in 2004, says the British Hospitality Association.

The trade association for restaurants, hotels and caterers said eating and drinking away from the home formed the majority of the leisure earnings.

The first was worth £20.1bn and the latter £15.9bn. Business-related spending was valued at £10.2bn and overnight accommodation at £9.9bn.

The London Eye was the top charging attraction with 3.7 million visitors.

No bomb backlash

The BHA report, supported by American Express and research company Horizons, also revealed more than 110 hotels will have opened in the UK between September 2004 and December 2005.

And the London bombings in July do not seem to have an adverse effect on numbers.

In a foreword to the report American Express executive Kathryn Pretzel-Shiels said inbound tourism to the UK should finish the year ahead of 2004.

Altogether, 27.7m overseas visitors spent £13.10bn during the year, up from £11.86bn in 2003.