This table shows the number of overseas visits to the UK from seven countries and the rest of the world, broken down by two modes of transport (air and tunnel) over a two-year period, 2011 to 2013.
Overall, the total number of visits to the UK increased over the period, with air travel being the dominant mode of transport for most of the listed countries, particularly Germany and France. However, tunnel travel saw the most significant growth in visits.
In 2011, a total of 26,201 thousand people visited the UK, and this number rose to 28,233 thousand by 2013. The majority of these visitors arrived by air, with numbers increasing from 22,631 thousand to 23,754 thousand. In comparison, tunnel visits were much lower, although they experienced a more dramatic increase, growing from 3,670 thousand to 4,479 thousand.
When looking at individual countries, France had the most visitors overall, with 1,339 thousand visitors by air and 1,514 thousand by tunnel in 2011. By 2013, these numbers had grown to 1,441 thousand and 1,761 thousand respectively. Germany and Italy also contributed a significant number of visitors. Notably, Italy and Germany had no tunnel visitors recorded in 2011 and only a small number in 2013. On the other hand, countries like Sweden, Bulgaria, and Portugal had very few visitors arriving via tunnel in both years.