Theatre-loving foreigners spend £1.9bn

Foreign visitors spent £1.9 billion on trips that included a West End show last year — with the theatre-going tourists more likely to recommend Britain as a holiday destination as a result.

One in six of the 2.2 million visitors from overseas, including businessmen, saw a play or musical in London, rising to a quarter of the 1.5 million people who came to Britain on holiday.

For all but 13 per cent of visitors, going to the theatre is not the main reason to come to the UK.

But tourism agency VisitBritain, which collated the figures, says word of mouth about the West End makes it a potential driving force for growth in the sector.

Musicals made up 64 per cent of the market, and have the most appeal to the nations of Scandinavia and Ireland.