August 2017 was a historic month for U.K. tourism.
New figures released by Britain's Office for National Statistics this week show the destination hosted a record 3.9 million inbound visits over the course of the month.
The 5 percent jump over August 2016 also led to record spending by overseas visitors, who shelled out a whopping £2.8 billion ($3.7 billion) in just 31 days.
A majority of tourists came from Europe, with European Union countries accounting for 2.4 million visits over the course of August. Britain's tourism industry has also been fueled by the U.S. and China markets of late.
The banner month means that the U.K. hosted 27.1 million visitors from January through August 2017, an 8 percent increase compared to the first eight months of 2016. Spending over that period is up 10 percent at £16.4 billion ($21.6 billion).
"Tourism is an economic force that creates jobs and drives growth up and down the country. These record-breaking figures for August reaffirm the U.K.'s position as a global go-to destination and show the continued strength of the sector," stated Tourism Minister John Glen.
VisitBritain anticipates that the U.K. will achieve 39.7 million inbound visits accounting for £25.7 billion ($33.9 billion) in spending by the end of the year.
Although Brexit fallout and the weakened pound have provided travelers with added incentive to visit the U.K., the swell of visitors undoubtedly speaks to the destination's allure. The 2017 Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index ranked the U.K. third out of 50 worldwide destinations for global tourism.
The U.K.'s encouraging numbers reflect the ongoing boom across the continent. Spain has been drawing visitors in droves in 2017 and Europe as a whole experienced stellar growth over the past summer, with approximately half of destinations reporting double-digit growth in international tourist arrivals over the first two-thirds of the year.
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