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The
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
is the world's 10th biggest tourist destination, with over 40.1 million visiting in 2019, contributing a total of £234 billion to the GDP. £23.1 billion was spent in the UK by foreign tourists in 2017. VisitBritain data shows that the USA remains the most valuable inbound market, with American visitors spending £2.1 billion in 2010. Nevertheless, the number of travellers originating from Europe is much larger than those travelling from North America: 21.5 million compared to 3.5 million American/Canadian visitors. After a 7-year rise, to 41.08 million in 2017, tourism to the United Kingdom flatlined in 2018 (40.28 million) and 2019 (40.86 million) before the Covid pandemic hit (11.1 million in 2020 and 6.19 million in 2021). The country's principal tourist destinations are
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, and
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
. The United Kingdom hosts a total of 32
World Heritage sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
, the 8th most in the world. The
Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embark ...
travel guide voted
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
number 2, after
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
, as one of the best countries to visit in 2020. Some of the most popular cities include
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
and notable attractions include the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...
, the
London Eye The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the Unite ...
and
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
.


History

Tourism first began to increase during the 17th century when wealthy Europeans would follow the ‘
Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
’ of Western Europe which traditionally started in the United Kingdom before travelling to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Throughout the
industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, tourism continued to spike as people began to have more disposable income and technological advancements made transport more convenient and affordable. In 1841,
Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was an English businessman. He is best known for founding the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was also one of the initial developers of the "package tour" including travel, accommodatio ...
, founder of
Thomas Cook & Son Thomas Cook & Son, originally simply Thomas Cook, was a company founded by Thomas Cook, a cabinet-maker, in 1841 to carry temperance supporters by railway between the cities of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham. In 1851, Cook arrange ...
, took 500 passengers by train on a return trip from
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
to
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...
. This was his first excursion and is seen as a significant milestone in the creation of the British tourism industry. The world wars dampened the growth of the tourism sector, although after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
the government began putting measures in place to increase tourism, recognising its political and economic influence. By 1987, the
World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading inter ...
estimated 3.4% of the UK's GDP came from tourism. More recently, budget airlines and cheap accommodation has caused almost continuous year-on-year growth. In more recent times, terrorist attacks in the UK such as the 7/7 bombings in 2005 have an expected negative impact on the tourism industry. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 caused three consecutive years of the number of visitors from overseas decreasing for the only period between 2002 and 2017. The United Kingdom is the 10th most visited country in the world and the 6th most visited country in Europe. The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
affected tourism in the United Kingdom. In March 2020, the government decided to impose restrictions on all non-essential travel (both domestic and international) which are currently still in place. It was reported that in the month of April
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
was expecting 6.7 million passengers, but only 200,000 arrived which is roughly equivalent to a normal day. In April 2020, professional services firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
expected that the worst affected sectors in the U.K. such as transport, hotels and food service could drop by at a minimum 15% or in the worst-case scenario by 40%. The restrictions and lockdowns necessitated by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
(starting in March or April 2020) affected all sectors of the economy and "Tourism and hospitality suffered notable losses from the pandemic", according to March 2021 report published by the
Fraser of Allander Institute The Fraser of Allander Institute, abbreviated to FAI, is an independent research unit and part of the Department of Economics at the University of Strathclyde. It specialises in researching the Scottish economy. The FAI covers a number of prima ...
. The group provided detailed specifics for both domestic and international visits. COVID-19 lockdowns necessitated significantly reduced the number of visitors in 2020, and into 2021. Although the government announced a £56m "welcome back fund" in March 2021 to help councils and businesses in coastal towns prepare to welcome tourists back safely in summer, "as soon as the
roadmap A roadmap may refer to: *A road map, a form of map that details roads and transport links *A plan, e.g. **Road map for peace, to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict **Technology roadmap A technology roadmap is a flexible planning schedule ...
allows" despite the COVID-19 Alpha variant emerged. , a 10-day quarantine period applies to people entering the UK from a number of "red list" countries. As the country surpassed 100,000 COVID-19 related deaths, a VisitBritain report in January 2021 discussed the effects of the pandemic on domestic tourism within the UK in 2020, citing a significant reduction in spending, for an estimated decline of 62% over the previous year. The forecast for 2021 suggested that spending would increase by 79% over the previous year and that "the value of spending will be back to 84% of 2019 levels" by the end of 2021. The forecasts were based on predictions about the easing of travel restrictions and an increase in consumer confidence. The same VisitBritain report provided the following estimate for "inbound tourism" in 2020: a "decline of 76% in visits to 9.7 million and a decline of 80% in spending to £5.7 billion". The forecast for 2021 indicated an estimated "11.7 million visits, up 21% on 2020, but only 29% of the 2019 level". Some £6.6 billion would be spent by inbound tourists, "up 16% on 2020 but only 23% of the 2019 level". An increase in the number of visits was expected as 2021 developed, but that would start slowly and tourism was not expected to come "even close to normal levels" during the year. On 5 April 2021,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...
published an update on domestic tourism, indicating that travel restrictions were expected to be loosened during that month, at least for travel within England, Scotland and Wales. No announcement had been made as of early April by Northern Ireland. The tourism authority also indicated that there was a plan for the UK to loosen restrictions on international travel on 17 May, both inbound and outbound, but it was premature to predict whether those changes would actually commence at the expected time. On 6 April 2021, CNN published an update as to the tourism situation, particularly for readers in nations. Any visitors from "red list" countries were still not allowed to enter unless they were UK residents. "There's still not much to do in the UK right now ... although this lockdown is now being eased some restrictions will likely be in place until the summer", the report predicted, with June being the most likely time for tourism from other countries to begin a rebound. It was possible that loosening of the UK's restrictions on inbound tourists would not commence as early as planned because sources in the European Union stated on 8 April 2021 that a "third wave of the pandemic
as sweeping As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...
the continent". (Two days earlier, PM
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
had made it clear that "We don't want to see the virus being reimported into this country from abroad".) Of particular concern was the B.1.1.7. variant, a mutation of the virus, "which asspreading rapidly in at least 27 and other European countries". Some restrictions on hospitality and domestic tourism were loosened in England on 12 April 2021; pubs and restaurants were allowed to open their outdoor facilities; non-essential stores opened; families were allowed to travel within England "in self-contained accommodation" and travel between Wales and England was fully permitted. Restrictions regarding tourism were not lifted in Scotland and Northern Ireland; in addition to permitting travel to and from England, Wales permitted non-essential retail stores to open.


Politics

The
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism and Civil Society is a junior position in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the British government. It is currently held by Stuart Andrew who took the office on ...
is the minister with responsibility over
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
in the UK.


Domestic tourism

Domestic tourism remains the biggest component of tourist spending in the UK, with 2008 expenditures totalling £21.9 billion, according to VisitBritain.
UK Tourist 2009
'', VisitBritain, June 2011
The national statistical agency also estimates that there were 126 million trips made in 2009. The busiest period for domestic travel in the UK is during bank holidays and the summer months, with August being the busiest.


International tourism

Official statistics for the final quarter of 2019 have yet to been published, although in 2018 a total of 37.9 million people visited the UK from overseas and cumulatively spent £22.8 billion, making the average spend per visit £601. Compared to 2017, there were 5.3% and 2.3% respective decreases in international visitors and spending. This was the first time since 2009-10 that the number of visitors has dropped. This has been attributed to the emergence of other countries, particularly in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, as tourist destinations as well as the geopolitical uncertainty that has manifested as a result of the Brexit 2016 referendum. File:Overseas visits to the UK by month and vistors residence (by broad country range).svg, Overseas visits to the UK by month File:Purpose of overseas visits to the UK by month and reason.svg, Purpose of overseas visits to the UK File:UK residents' oversea visits abroad by month.svg, UK residents' oversea visits


Visa and Entry requirements

Visa requirements are different depending on the origin of the individual wishing to enter the United Kingdom. Some individuals are entitled to enter the United Kingdom without a visa and have no restrictions on their length of stay, work policies or study policies. These groups are:
British nationals British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
, citizens of
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries who have the
right of abode The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there withou ...
, Irish citizens and until at least 31 December 2020, European Union citizens and citizens of
EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European U ...
member states. There are 56 other countries and territories that can stay in the UK for up to 6 months. Nationals of other countries are required to hold a Standard Visitor visa, costing £95, to be able to visit for up to 6 months.


Major attractions

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
is the most visited city in the United Kingdom, and some of the smaller town and cities attract a significant number of tourists. The county's other large cities such as
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
and
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
draw large numbers, and some smaller cities have major
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...
landmarks. The university cities of
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
are, despite their smaller population, recognised worldwide because of the
Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...
universities’ legacies. VisitBritain, the tourist board of Great Britain, analyses data from the
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for ...
to estimate the number of visitors that attend each attraction. This can be difficult to measure for landmarks such as
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
or the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...
, as many tourists visit the surrounding area without actually being admitted into the venue.


Transport


Arriving in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom only has one land border where Northern Ireland meets the Republic of Ireland. This border is considered an
open border An open border is a border that enables free movement of people (and often of goods) between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation ...
due to the
Common Travel Area The Common Travel Area (CTA; ga, Comhlimistéar Taistil, ) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Based on agreements that are no ...
arrangement and as a result is subject to minimal controls. The lack of control at the border makes it difficult to estimate the number of visitors from the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
into
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. In 2018, the total number of international visits to the United Kingdom was 37.9 million. Out of the 37.9 million visitors, 29.06 million arrived by aeroplane, 4.81 million by boat and 4.04 million crossed from France using the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover ...
.


Travelling within the United Kingdom

With 48% of tourists using intracity buses, tubes, trams and metro trains; they are by far the most popular methods of transport. The next most common methods of transports are taxis and trains (outside town/city) with 27% and 23% respectively. Trains are used to travel between cities significantly more than aeroplanes, with only 1% of international visitors flying domestically. This has been attributed to the United Kingdom's vast rail network being the most economical way to travel. Despite
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...
being in a legal battle to operate in London, the rise of Uber and other ride-sharing companies throughout the United Kingdom has led to them being used by 9% of international tourists and they are expected to further increase, reducing the market share of other methods of transport.


Events, Festivals and Exhibitions

The United Kingdom plays host to a variety of events that attract both international and domestic tourists. Some of the United Kingdom's most famous festivals include
Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966
,
Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
and the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
. These festivals not only hold cultural significance but are also a major economic component of the United Kingdom's tourist industry, with
Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
alone contributing £100 million to the economy annually. The beauty, real estate and arms industries are some of the many industries that hold trade shows and exhibitions year-round throughout the United Kingdom, with the majority being held in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
or
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
. VisitBritain has estimated in 2015 there were 65 million day visits centred around events, festivals and exhibitions and in total, they accounted for 5% of all tourist day visits and a net spend of £3.6 billion.


Marketing

In 2011, VisitBritain launched GREAT, one of a £100 million marketing campaign, promoting the United Kingdom through culture, heritage, sport, music, countryside, food and shopping. The campaign has successfully reached over 145 countries and united both the public and private sectors to generate growth and jobs. Overall, inbound and domestic marketing have generated £1 billion in additional visitor spend, of which, £800 million can be attributed to the GREAT campaign.


Shopping

Shopping is one of the most common activities for overseas visitors to the United Kingdom with 58% of all visits and 70% of leisure visits involving shopping. Each year, roughly 277,000 people travel to the United Kingdom for the primary reason of personal shopping. The total spend of these visits is around £168 million. The most commonly purchased items are clothes and shoes with just over 40% of visitors purchasing at least one item of clothing or a pair of shoes. Ornamental souvenirs representing items found in the United Kingdom such as post office boxes, black cabs and London buses are commonly found in souvenir shops over the United Kingdom. Other examples of commonly purchased souvenirs include:
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
branded goods, items from famous department stores like
Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to ot ...
and
Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridg ...
and memorabilia surrounding the British royal family.


Tourism today

The United Kingdom attracts worldwide visitors with a combination of rural and urban scenery and the appeal of British Culture which includes sport, food and art.


See also

For more information on tourism in the United Kingdom please see the articles for the constituent parts of the UK: *
Tourism in England Tourism plays a significant part in the economic life of England. In 2018, the United Kingdom as a whole was the world's 10th most visited country for tourists, and 17 of the United Kingdom's 25 UNESCO World Heritage Sites fall within England. ...
* Tourism in Northern Ireland *
Tourism in Scotland Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4bn per year. In 2013, for example, UK visitors made ...
*
Tourism in Wales Wales is an emerging tourist destination, with 9.39m visitors to Conwy alone in 2018 and 8,078,900 visitors to National Trust and Wales Tourist Board destinations in 2002. As of 2017 the tourism industry in Wales has been estimated to have an annu ...
* Tourism in London *
Visa policy of the United Kingdom The visa policy of the United Kingdom is the policy by which His Majesty's Government determines visa requirements for visitors to the United Kingdom, and the Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man and those seeking to work, ...
* Visa policy of the British Overseas Territories


References


External links


Official tourist guide to Britain
{{Economy of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...