Birmingham saw 1.1m international visits to the city in 2015 with consumer spend by international visitors reaching £386m, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The city is now the fourth most visited place in the UK by international visitors, with an increase of 163,000 on 2014 (up 17.3 per cent). This was the largest increase outside London.
The £386m consumer spend was up by £87m on 2014 and the fourth highest of any UK city, just eight per cent lower than London.
Councilor John Clancy, leader of Birmingham City Council, said:“These figures are great news for Birmingham, confirming the city’s international standing and growing appeal. More people are discovering Birmingham and its surrounding areas than ever before.
“With over £1bn of investment in the region in the last year, Greater Birmingham is experiencing record levels of growth. Birmingham is a city of progress and changes to its physical and economic landscapes will continue.”
Kathryn James, managing director of the NEC, added:“These latest figures reinforce what we’ve been saying for some time – Birmingham is now emerging as a world class city and Greater Birmingham has never been more attractive for visitors, be it through business investment, tech enterprise, advanced manufacturing, leisure and entertainment or hospitality.
“Our NEC Group venues are also playing their part in attracting international visitors through exhibitions, conference and live events, and even more so now that our destination offer is enhanced following the opening of Resorts World Birmingham on the NEC campus last year.
“The region and its calibre is continuing to grow and our collective offer is being developed further by a connected set of masterplans which are currently in progress and will drive even greater visitor numbers in the future.”
