News.Scotland.Org

Britain’s big industrial towns, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, are becoming tourist magnets for overseas visitors, according to a survey.

Edinburgh topped along with London in the list of UK cities most visited by overnight-staying foreign residents. Glasgow lags not behind but among cities proving popular destinations. This is found out according to the latest survey by an organisation called VisitBritain.

Based on average annual figures for city visits from 2006 to 2009, the statistics showed that Edinburgh has 1.3 million visits from overseas residents a year and Glasgow with a figure of 687,000.

For visits purely for holiday purposes, London topped the list with 6.65 million overnight-stay visits, followed by Edinburgh with 771,000, Glasgow with 312,000, Inverness with 180,000 and other cities followed.

Patricia Yates, VisitBritain strategy and communications director, said that the survey confirms an astonishing transformation of the country’s industrial heartlands has taken place. They have become dynamic, stylish international destinations that are increasingly beloved of foreign visitors. She also added that each city has its own speciality that attracts the visitors. Glasgow is famous with its unique architecture. While, countryside and coastal views has become Scotland’s style capital-Edinburgh.”

VisitBritain based its figures on Office for National Statistics’ international passenger survey figures in which around 200,000 travellers were questioned between 2006 and 2009.