Tourist figures best since 1997

The number of foreign tourists visiting London has recovered to pre-September 11 levels.

Figures today showed there were 13.4 million overseas visitors last year - up 14.5 per cent. That does not only surpass the 13.1 million in 2000, it marks the best figure since 1997.

A significant part of the increase is in US tourists, whose numbers rose by 200,000 to

2.8 million over the last year and who tend to stay longer than European visitors.

But the Continental market remains the largest, with

6.5 million travelling from within the European Union - up 800,000 on 2003. There was also a huge influx from Russia, with year-on-year numbers rising 35 per cent to 341,000 people.

According to the Visit London tourist agency, last year was the first in which the capital was specifically marketed to Americans, with campaigns aimed at those aged 35 and above.

Despite the rise, the number of US tourists to London is still 100,000 down on 2000, prior to the terrorist attacks which saw a huge downturn in air travel worldwide.

A spokeswoman for Visit London said: "There was a dip when people were not really travelling overseas. Now there is a change in attitudes." Experts now predict that the amount foreign tourists spend in the capital will rise 3.2 per cent this year to ?6.45billion.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "Last year the increase in the number of tourists to London was worth ?770 million, or 10 per cent of the city's economic growth."

But the capital has struggled to attract a growing number of domestic visitors. Visit London blames this on weak consumer confidence.

About 14 million British visitors came to London last year - the same as last year, and 4.5 million fewer than in 2000.