UK tourist numbers surge past 26 million

The lure of Liverpool and other English cities is helping tourist numbers reach record levels in Britain this year, it was revealed today.

The number of visits to Liverpool by foreign residents has doubled over the last two years, the VisitBritain organisation said.

The year 2004 is set to see a record 26.4 million overseas visitor trips to the UK, beating the previous best years of 1998 and 2000, said VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright.