The national tourism agency forecasts the number of visitors to not surpass last year’s total of 30.7m people spending a combined £17.6bn, even when taking into account the influx of visitors expected for the Olympic Games.
VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe said maintaining last year’s visitor levels would be a "good outcome" in a year that is proving difficult to predict due to the current global economic climate and the impact this may have in many of our key markets.
According to Dawe, a record number of holiday makers visited the UK in 2011, however the business traveller market remained some way down on record levels and there is a risk this could decline further.
The organisation is working to ensure the Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations generate positive PR for Britain and take advantage of the global interest.
"2012 gives us an unprecedented opportunity to showcase Britain in a way that we have never had before, allowing us to revitalise our appeal in mature markets and help us get Britain on the destination wish list of first time visitors from growth markets such as Brazil, China, India and Russia," said Dawe.
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