Manchester has been unveiled as the second most popular inbound tourist destination in the UK.
New data has revealed a surge in visitors, with more people travelling to Manchester than any other place outside of the capital.
This extraordinary rise has now seen the city surpass Edinburgh as the most visited tourist spot outside of London in the first half of 2019 according to figures from Expedia Group.
It is understood the increase in numbers is down to a rise in people travelling from Asia with demand from Chinese tourists to the UK up a massive 185% year-on-year.
The number of visitors from other fast-growing markets such as Spain, Brazil, Japan and the US also increased considerably.
While London continued to attract the strongest tourist demand, other places such as Sheffield. Cambridge, Leeds and Cardiff all experienced significant rises..
This has all led to positive growth for hotels across the UK.
Expedia Group London-based market management director Helen Maher said: “It’s exciting to see the significant growth in visitors from a number of international markets, in particularly the ongoing appeal of the UK among Chinese travellers.
“The strong growth of cities outside of London is also hugely encouraging, demonstrating our proposition of providing hotel partners with a global reach is helping capture visitors and drive conversions.”
