The tourism industry in Britain contributed 81.5 billion pounds (some 143.4 billion US dollars) to the country’s economy in 2004, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Sunday.
The British Hospitality Association, the trade association for restaurants, hotels and caterers, was quoted as saying that eating and drinking away from the home formed the majority of the leisure earnings, which was worth 20.1 billion pounds (some 35.4 billion dollars).
Business-related spending was valued at 10.2 billion pounds (some 18 billion dollars) and overnight accommodation at 9.9 billion pounds (some 17.4 billions dollars).
The London Eye was the top charging attraction, with 3.7 million visitors last year.
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A new survey suggests the British tourism industry could slow by about 10% as a result of the London bombings.
Tourism employs about one tenth of Britain's total workforce and was expected to grow by 5% this year, quicker than the rest of the economy.
But a survey by the European Tour Operators' Association showed its members have seen bookings fall after last month's bombings.
Association boss Tom Jenkins says media coverage has had a major impact. He says a surprising feature is the resilience of the American market.
Jenkins says it could take another six weeks for tourist confidence to recover fully.
More: tvnz.co.nz
TOURISM was worth more than £80 billion to the UK economy last year - a figure higher than official government statistics suggest, according to a British Hospitality Association report.
The official figure for 2004 was £75 billion - a slight dip on the £75.9 billion in 2003.
But the American Express-sponsored report from the BHA - for the first time including new calculations from research company Horizons - put the value of the UK tourism and leisure industry in 2004 at £81.5 billion.
Eating out (£20.1 billion) and drinking away from the home (£15.9 billion) formed the bulk of the
London won a surprise victory on Wednesday to host the 2012 Olympic Games, sending the worldwide sporting event to the British capital for the first time since 1948 and holding the potential for billions of pounds in construction spending.
London's victory over favored rival Paris, by a 54-50 margin, elicited cheers from Trafalgar Square to the City of London financial center.
It may result in some 10 billion pounds ($17.5 billion) being poured into the U.K. construction sector. The news sent U.K.-based tourism, home-building and construction stocks higher.
Gainers in London included British construction group Hanson PLC (HNSHNS)(HAN), which rose 1.6%, caterer
Revenue from tourism totaled almost $2 billion in 2004, 47% more than in 2003, according to Ministry of Tourism figures. Tourism revenue accounted for 4% of exports and 14% of services exports.
500,000 Christian tourists visited Israel during 2004, 47% of all tourists. 23% of Christian tourists in 2004 were pilgrims, compared with 16% in 2003.
12% of tourists came for recreation, 39% to visit friends and relatives, 12% for sightseeing, 15% on business, and 2% to show solidarity with Israel.
13% of tourists arrived on package tours; 10% bought package tours, but did not come in a group; and
SCOTLAND'S tourism industry will go through a "blip" but recover within months from the fallout of the terrorist attacks in London.
Philip Riddle, chief executive of VisitScotland, said the industry could be affected if air passengers choose to transfer flights in Paris or Amsterdam rather than in London, which would result in fewer visiting Scotland as part of a trip to the UK.
Tourism contributes an estimated £4.5bn to £5bn to the Scottish economy each year, and directly or indirectly employs around 197,000.
The industry was badly affected by the fallout of the September 11 attacks, when the number of
