Dubai-Mubasher: The UAE tourists accounted for 35% the Gulf visitors’ spending in the UK during the first nine months of 2015, according to Visit Britain.
Sumathi Ramanathan, regional general manager at tourism body, expected a 4% increase in the number of tourists from the Gulf in 2016 after the UK government introduced two years ago an electronic visa waiver for the UAE, Qatari and Omani nationals.
The number of tourists from the UAE visiting the UK jumped 32% to reach 260,000 in the first nine months of 2015, compared to figures from the same period in 2014.
On the sidelines of the soft launch of a new tourism campaign in Dubai, Ramanathan added that Gulf tourist numbers rose 18% to 567,000 during the same period, while spending reached £1.2 billion.
He added that Britain is expected to attract 40 million visitors this year, a growth of 4% from 36 million tourists in 2014.
