Overseas residents made an estimated 40.8 million visits to the UK in 2025, ONS says

On 16 October 2026, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released estimates of international travel during the 2025 calendar year. Overseas residents made an estimated 40.8 million visits to the UK and spent around £29.8 billion on those trips. Of that total, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales, excluding Northern Ireland) accounted for 36.9 million visits and £29.2 billion in spending. The two geographic series must not be conflated.

Where visitors came from

By number of visits to Great Britain, US residents ranked first with about 5.5 million, followed by France with 3.1 million and Germany with 2.8 million. These are visits, not distinct people: someone may travel more than once. Total visitor spending is not the revenue of hotels, restaurants or any single industry.

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UK residents travelling abroad

UK residents made an estimated 99.9 million visits overseas and spent £86.2 billion. The separate Great Britain resident estimates are 95.5 million visits and £83.9 billion. These totals should not be treated as a simple net balance for tourism businesses: they concern different trips and types of spending.

What changed during the year

ONS urges caution with annual 2025-versus-2024 comparisons because the 2024 annual estimates combine two survey methods. Quarters from July to September 2024 onward are more comparable. On that basis, overseas residents made 5.5% more visits to Great Britain in the third quarter of 2025 than a year earlier, but 2.7% fewer in the fourth quarter. Their spending rose 4.2% in the third quarter and was broadly unchanged in the fourth quarter, compared with the corresponding quarters of 2024.

For accommodation, hospitality and visitor-service businesses, these figures indicate the scale of the market, not a sales forecast for 2026–2027 or a measure of demand in any particular town. Check local demand and your own bookings when planning prices and staffing. ONS labels the estimates provisional official statistics in development: its methods are still being refined and numbers may change. Official sources: the ONS release and the methodology update.