London Travel Statistics (2026 Data)

Add up every kind of trip and London had about 224 million¹ visits in 2024: 188.6 million² day visits by British residents, 15.1 million³ overnight trips from elsewhere in Britain and 20.7 million⁴ visits from abroad. The international visitors matter most to the city's tills. In 2025 they made 19.3 million⁵ visits, stayed 107.0 million⁶ nights and spent £15.8 billion⁵ ($20.9 billion¹) in London, more than half of everything overseas visitors spent in the whole of the UK.

The numbers below answer the questions most people ask about travel to London: how many visitors come and from where, what they spend, how long they stay and why, when the city is busiest, and how they arrive and get around. Along the way: one country sends almost a fifth of all international visitors, a free museum in South Kensington became the UK's most visited attraction among those that report their figures,⁷ and one borough holds almost two in five of London's hotel jobs. The first table gathers the headline figures.

How many tourists visit London each year?

International visitors

London received 19.3 million⁵ international visits in 2025. A visit counts once however many nights it lasts, and it counts for London if the visitor slept at least one night in the city, so the number is visits, not individual people: someone who comes three times a year is counted three times.⁵

The long-run picture is growth with one deep hole. Visits rose from 11.6 million¹² in 2002 to a record 21.7 million¹² in 2017 and again in 2019, collapsed to 2.7 million¹² in 2021 when borders reopened only partly, and recovered to 20.3 million¹² in 2023 and 20.7 million⁴ in 2024. No figure exists for 2020, when interviewing stopped for most of the year. The 2025 figure is not directly comparable with 2019: the count changed its method in July 2024, so part of the gap between 21.7 million¹² and 19.3 million⁵ may be the new method rather than fewer visitors.

Comparing like with like, the second half of 2025 was 1%⁵ busier than the second half of 2024.

The trend line runs through the pandemic years and the method change, so treat it as a rough guide only; fitted on 2002-2019 alone, before both, it would rise faster. The official outlook covers only the UK as a whole and is discussed below; no separate forecast for London is published.

Visits are only half of the story; nights and money matter as much. International visitors spent 118.4 million¹² nights in London in 2019 and 107.0 million⁶ in 2025, while their spending rose from £5.8 billion¹² in 2002 to £17.0 billion⁴ in 2024 ($21.7 billion¹) in current pounds, before £15.8 billion⁵ in 2025. The table converts each year's spending into dollars at that year's average exchange rate.

London's share of Britain's international visitors

Most overseas visitors to Britain spend at least one night in the capital. In 2025, 52%⁵ of all international visits to Great Britain included London, against 13.6 million⁵ visits to the rest of England combined.⁵ The longer series, for the UK, shows how steady this pull has been: London's share of visits that included a night anywhere in the UK moved between 48.9%¹² and 55.1%¹² from 2002 to 2019, dipped to 43.2%¹² in 2021 and reached 55.2%⁴ in 2024, the highest in the series. The 2025 figure of 52% is measured against all visits to Great Britain, a different base, so it is not a fall from 2024.

Against Britain's other nations and regions the gap is wide. London's 19.3 million⁵ visits in 2025 were almost five times the 3.9 million⁵ of the South East, the next English region,¹ and the £15.8 billion⁵ spent in London was four times the £3.9 billion⁵ spent in Scotland.

Where do London's international visitors come from?

The United States is London's biggest market by a long way.⁶ Americans made 3.7 million⁶ visits in 2025, 19.0%¹ of the total and more than twice as many as France, the second market, with 1.8 million⁶.⁶ Germany, Spain and Italy follow, and the top five countries together account for 48.3%¹ of all visits. Long-haul markets beyond the US are smaller but stay longer: Australia sent 795,000⁶ visits and India 244,000⁶.

So who stays longest, and who spends most per visit? European markets average about three to five nights per visit; visitors from further away stay longer and spend more each time. An American visit lasted 5.4 nights⁶ and brought £1,191⁶ ($1,570¹) of spending in London; a French one 4.0 nights⁶ and £530⁶. Visitors from India stayed 17.1 nights⁶, and visitors from Saudi Arabia and the UAE spent the most per visit in the table, £2,588⁶ and £2,547⁶, though these estimates rest on a few hundred interviews each.

Every row rests on at least 188 interviews; the Gulf and China rows are the least precise.

The market mix has shifted since before the pandemic, though the method change again calls for care. US visits were 3.1 million⁴ in 2019 and 3.7 million⁴ in 2024, while Portugal, Sweden, India, Belgium and Italy sent clearly fewer visitors in 2024 than in 2019, and Germany about the same. The table compares the two years for 2025's top 15 countries, both measured before or across the switch to the new survey.

How much do visitors spend in London?

International visitors spent £15.8 billion⁵ ($20.9 billion¹) in London in 2025, or £820⁶ ($1,081¹) per visit and £148⁶ ($195¹) per night. Americans alone spent £4.4 billion⁶, 27.6%¹ of the total, because they are both the largest group and among the highest spenders per visit. The figure is the part of each visitor's trip spending attributed to London, from rooms and meals to shopping and transport, not the flight to get here; spending elsewhere in Britain on the same trip is counted for those places.

Per trip, spending has risen in pounds. A visit cost £499¹² in 2002 and £819⁴ in 2024; a night cost £77¹² and £146⁴. The 2021 spike to £989¹² per visit reflects the few, long trips of that year, 11.5 nights¹² on average. These are current pounds, not adjusted for inflation.

A note on pounds and dollars

Every dollar figure on this page uses the average exchange rate of the same year, so a year's spending is never converted at today's rate. The pound bought $2.0022¹¹ on average in 2007 and $1.2362¹¹ in 2022; in 2025 it averaged $1.3185¹¹. A weaker pound makes London cheaper for American visitors even when prices in pounds stay the same.

Why do people visit London, and how long do they stay?

Most international visitors come on holiday. Holidays made 10.5 million⁶ of 2025's visits, 54.2%¹, followed by visits to friends or relatives, 5.0 million⁶, and business trips, 2.8 million⁶. Study and other reasons made up the rest.⁶

The purpose shapes the stay. Holidaymakers stayed 4.4 nights⁶ on average and spent £191⁶ a night; people visiting friends or relatives stayed 7.9 nights⁶ but spent only £70⁶ a night. Business visitors spent the most per night, £263⁶, and students the most per visit, £1,806⁶, over stays of 22.9 nights⁶.

Over the long run, holidays drove the growth. Holiday visits more than doubled from 4.9 million¹³ in 2002 to 11.1 million¹³ in 2019, while business visits rose only from 2.8 million¹³ to 4.0 million¹³. Business travel has not come back in the same way since: 2025's 2.8 million⁶ business visits were 30%¹ fewer than in 2019, though the counting method changed in 2024, so the exact size of the drop is uncertain.

How long do visitors stay?

The average international visit lasted 5.5 nights¹ in 2025. On the old survey method it fell from 6.5¹² nights in 2002 to 5.5¹² in 2019 as long trips shrank: counting the whole UK stay, visits of 8 nights or more were 23.8%¹ of the total in 2002 and 19.3%¹ in 2019, while trips of one to three nights held steady at about 46%¹. Before the pandemic, almost half of all visits were short: in 2019, 9.8 million¹³ of the 21.7 million¹² visits lasted one to three nights, and only 1.4 million¹³ lasted 15 nights or more. The newer survey does not yet publish this breakdown for London.

When is London busiest?

Summer. July to September is the peak quarter, with 5.4 million⁵ international visits in 2025, and January to March is the quietest, with 4.0 million⁵. The busiest quarter had 1.35¹ times the visits of the quietest. October to December runs close to spring, and the same shape held before the pandemic, both in 2019 and on average over 2010-2019.

Total spending peaks with the visitors: £4.9 billion⁶ in July to September 2025. Spending per night, though, is highest in October to December, £162⁶, against £130⁶ in January to March.

How do visitors get to London?

Mostly by air. In 2019, the newest year with this split for London, 18.0 million¹³ of the 21.7 million¹² international visits travelled by air, 2.7 million¹³ used the Channel Tunnel and 1.1 million¹³ came by sea.¹³

London's six airports handled 179.2 million⁸ passengers in 2025, counting arrivals and departures of travellers of every nationality, residents included. Heathrow alone handled 84.5 million⁸, 47.1%¹ of the London total and the highest figure in its 2015-2025 record.⁸ Gatwick handled 42.8 million⁸, Stansted 29.8 million⁸, Luton 17.8 million⁸ and London City 3.7 million⁸. Together the six airports carried 59.9%¹ of all passengers at UK airports.

The airports have almost recovered from the pandemic. Passengers fell from 181.0 million⁸ in 2019 to 38.3 million⁸ in 2021 and were back to 99.0%¹ of the 2019 level in 2025. Heathrow is above its 2019 total of 80.9 million⁸; Southend, at 0.72 million⁸, is still far below its 2.04 million⁸ of 2019.

The table gives each airport's yearly total, so you can see which ones led the recovery.

How many British residents visit London?

In 2024 British residents made 203.7 million¹ overnight trips and day visits to London, almost ten times the 20.7 million⁴ visits from abroad that year. They made 15.1 million³ overnight trips to London in 2024, spending 37.3 million³ nights and £5.5 billion³ ($7.0 billion¹). That made London the second most popular region of England for overnight trips, just behind the South West's 15.4 million³, and its share of all Britons' overnight trips in England rose from 15%³ in 2022 to 17%³ in 2024 as city breaks became more popular.³

Who are the domestic visitors? Londoners themselves, first of all: 28%³ of the overnight trips London residents took within England stayed in the capital. People from Scotland and Wales come next, with 24%³ and 21%³ of their England trips going to London; of England residents' own trips in England, 16%³ included London.

Day trips are where London leads clearly. British residents made 188.6 million² tourism day visits to London in 2024, 21%² of all those in England and 25%² of their spending, about £12.1 billion¹ ($15.5 billion¹).² Visits fell 13%² from 2023, but spending rose 10%².

Holidays are a small part of domestic overnight travel to London: 3.3 million³ of the 15.1 million³ trips; the other 11.8 million¹ were for other reasons. The table puts the domestic measures side by side.

What are London's most visited attractions?

From visitors to the places they fill. Among the attractions that report their figures to the leading attractions association, the Natural History Museum was the most visited in London and the whole UK in 2025, with 7.1 million⁷ visits, up 13%⁷, overtaking the British Museum, which led in 2024.^{7 14} The British Museum followed with 6.4 million⁷, then Tate Modern with 4.5 million⁷ and the National Gallery with 4.1 million⁷, up 29%⁷. The Tower of London, with 2.8 million⁷, drew the most visits among London sites that charge everyone for entry.⁷

Most of the big names held steady or slipped slightly against 2024, while a few grew sharply, including the National Gallery and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London theatres. The table shows each site's 2024 total, its change and how it charges for entry.

Free entry is the rule at the top. The 52⁷ London member sites reported 70.0 million¹ visits in 2025, and 49.7 million¹ of them, 71.0%¹, were to sites with free general entry, where only special exhibitions or events cost money; that group includes arts centres and theatres such as the Southbank Centre as well as the free museums. Sites that charge everyone took 16.2 million¹.

How busy is London's public transport?

From museums to the Tube. London's Underground carried 1,204.2 million⁹ journeys in the financial year 2025-26, about 3.3 million¹ a day, and the Elizabeth line, which runs under central London alongside it, carried 242.2 million⁹.⁹ Taken alone, the Underground is at 90.1%¹ of its 2019-20 level, but the Elizabeth line has taken over part of its traffic: together the two carried 1,446.4 million¹ journeys, 3.6%¹ more than the 1,396.4 million¹ of 2019-20. That base year already includes the first weeks of the March 2020 lockdown; the Underground alone peaked at 1,384.7 million⁹ in 2018-19.

Buses are the one part of the network clearly below its old level. They carried 1,785.6 million⁹ journeys in 2025-26, 84.4%¹ of the 2,116.2 million⁹ of 2019-20, and bus use was already drifting down before the pandemic, from a high of 2,385.2 million⁹ in 2014-15.

The Overground carried 190.0 million⁹ journeys in 2025-26 and the DLR 90.7 million⁹; even the cable car across the Thames carried 1.4 million⁹. The figures count every passenger, Londoners and visitors alike, so they show how busy the network is rather than how many trips tourists make. The chart ranks every mode.

London's hotels and hospitality jobs

Hotels cluster in the centre and by Heathrow. In 2024 hotels and similar accommodation employed 76,000¹⁰ people in London, and Westminster alone had 30,000¹⁰ of those jobs, 39.5%¹. Relative to the size of the local job market, Kensington and Chelsea is the most hotel-heavy borough, with 39.1¹ hotel jobs per 1,000 jobs, followed by Westminster with 35.8¹ and Hillingdon, home of Heathrow, with 25.5¹. The map shades every borough.

Counting premises rather than jobs tells the same story. London had 2,330¹⁵ hotel premises in March 2026, and 600¹⁵ of them, 25.8%¹, were in Westminster, followed by Camden with 205¹⁵ and Kensington and Chelsea with 155¹⁵.

The table lists hotel jobs and all jobs for every borough. The counts are rounded, so small boroughs' figures are approximate.

Hotels are only one part of the visitor economy. In 2024 London had 82,000¹⁰ jobs in all accommodation, 367,000¹⁰ in restaurants, cafes, pubs and other food and drink services, and 23,000¹⁰ in travel agencies and tour operators: 472,000¹ jobs together, 8.0%¹ of all jobs in London. Restaurants and pubs serve Londoners as much as visitors, so this is the size of the hospitality sector, not a count of tourism jobs. Accommodation jobs fell from 88,000¹⁰ in 2019 to 55,000¹⁰ in 2021 and have not quite recovered.

How London compares with other world cities

By one industry ranking, London was the third most visited city in the world by international arrivals in 2025, behind Bangkok, with 30.3 million¹⁶, and Hong Kong.¹⁶ The same ranking put Paris first overall for the fifth year running, on a wider score than arrivals alone.¹⁶ The ranking is an industry estimate made before the year ended, and its arrival count differs from the official one. Within Britain there is no contest. 52%⁵ of Great Britain's international visits in 2025 included London, and London had almost five times the visits of any other English region,^{5 1} so for most overseas visitors a trip to Britain means a stay in London.

Visiting London in 2026: entry rules, a possible levy and the outlook

Most visitors who do not need a visa, including those from Europe, the US, Australia and Canada, now need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) before they travel. It costs £20¹⁷ (about $26¹ at the 2025 average rate), lasts 2 years¹⁷ or until the passport expires, and covers any number of trips of up to 6 months¹⁷ each.¹⁷

London has no tourist tax yet. In September 2026 the government confirmed it will legislate to give mayors in England, including the Mayor of London, a power to charge an overnight visitor levy; the law still has to pass Parliament, and the government expects local plans for the money by March 2028.¹⁸ A levy would be a percentage of the room price, collected by accommodation providers. Each area must consult first and give businesses notice of the start date; there is no national minimum notice period.¹⁸ City Hall has set up a project team to scope a London levy, with no rate or date announced.¹⁹

The official outlook covers the whole UK: 44.2 million²⁰ inbound visits and £33.9 billion²⁰ of spending in 2026, 2%²⁰ more than its own 2025 estimate of 43.6 million²⁰ visits and £33.2 billion²⁰, made in August 2026 before the 2025 survey results above were published. Against the 40.8 million⁵ visits recorded for 2025, the forecast would mean about 8%¹ more visits. Visitors from Europe are expected to rise 4%²⁰ and long-haul visits to fall 3%²⁰.²⁰ That mix matters for London, where visitors from the United States alone bring 27.6%¹ of international spending.

What these numbers mean for a London trip

You will rarely have the city to yourself. Between July and September 2025 London hosted more than 5.4 million⁵ international visits on top of its own residents and day-trippers, and the quieter months are January to March, when visits drop to 4.0 million⁵ a quarter. The busiest museums are free, so a visit costs time in a queue rather than money: the Natural History Museum and the British Museum together drew 13.6 million¹ visits in 2025.

Budget-wise, the average international visitor spends £148⁶ a night in London, covering the room, food, transport and shopping. Holidaymakers spend more, £191⁶ a night. For getting in and around, Heathrow handles nearly half of all London air passengers, and the Underground, Elizabeth line and buses carry millions of journeys every day. If you are coming from a visa-free country, budget £20¹⁷ for the ETA before you book.

Conclusions

1. London is Britain's front door for overseas visitors. 52% of all international visits to Great Britain in 2025 included London, and the city took £15.8 billion of the UK's £29.8 billion of inbound spending.⁵
2. The money depends on a few long-haul markets. Americans made 19.0% of visits but 27.6% of spending, and visitors from Saudi Arabia and the UAE spent over £2,500 per visit, so a weaker long-haul outlook for 2026 weighs more on London's spending than its visitor count suggests.^{6 20}
3. Business travel has not come back like holidays. Holiday visits drive the totals, but 2025's 2.8 million business visits were 30% below 2019's 4.0 million, although the counting method changed in 2024, so the exact size of the drop is uncertain; the airports are back to 99.0% of their 2019 passengers.^{6 13 8}
4. Free-entry sites carry London's attraction economy. 71.0% of visits to the city's leading attractions went to free-entry sites, led by the Natural History Museum, the most visited UK attraction among those that report their figures.⁷
5. Hotels concentrate in a few boroughs. Westminster holds 39.5% of London's hotel jobs and a quarter of its hotel premises, so most receipts from any London-wide overnight levy would come from a small part of the city.^{10 15 18}