Record number of foreign visitors give capital £8.7bn boost

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Tourism body Visit London said the city attracted more foreign visitors than any other in the world, eclipsing New York and Paris. Figures from the Office of National Statistics showed 16 million visited from abroad, up 3.6 per cent on 2006. The total number of visitors to London was more than 26 million.

The record £8.7billion spent by foreign visitors was up more than 11 per cent on the previous year.

Despite the weak US dollar, Americans spent £1.6 billion, the highest figure since 2000.

Mayor Boris Johnson said: "Tourism is one of London's success stories and translates directly into jobs and income for Londoners."

The number of visitors from China increased by 37 per cent to 89,000.