TORONTO — The numbers are in: the United Kingdom has reported a record 19.2 million visits in the first half of 2017, up 9% compared to the start of 2016.

In addition, visitor spending also reached a new record, according to newly released figures from VisitBritain. Inbound visitors spent £10.8 billion (Can$17.8 billion) between January and June 2017, the first time inbound visitor spending has topped £10 billion in the first half of any year and up 14% on the same time last year.

Canada played a huge part in driving this growth, says VisitBritain. Visits from Canada were up 9% in Q2 to 244,000, with spend up 7% to £182 million (Can$300 million). For the first six months of 2017, visits from Canada were up 17% over the same period of 2016.

“******* continues to be a desirable destination for international travellers, with a range of *****-class tourism products and unique experiences found across our eclectic cities, countryside and coastal villages. By promoting these iconic and unexpected opportunities to Canadian audiences, we are ensuring ******* stays competitive in the global tourism industry,” said Gavin Landry, VisitBritain Executive Vice President, Americas.

London saw 10 million visits in the first half of 2017, up 14% with overseas spend increasing 16% to £6.1 billion ($10 billion CAD) when compared to the same time last year. The Rest of England (excluding London) saw an 8% increase in visits, reaching 4.5 million visits and overseas spend up 4% to £2.0 billion ($3.3 billion CAD). Visits to Scotland were up 14% to 1.3 million and overseas spend reached £956 million ($1.6 billion CAD), up 35% on the same time last year.

The latest data from ForwardKeys shows that flight bookings for international arrivals to the UK for October to December are tracking 7% ahead when compared to the same period last year.

VisitBritain forecasts that overseas visits to the U.K. will reach 39.7 million with spending up of £25.7 billion (Can$42.4 billion) by the end of this calendar year.