TORONTO — Canadian visitation to Britain is up, with new figures showing strong growth during the first nine months of 2019.

According to VisitBritain, a total of 707,000 visits from Canada to the U.K. were recorded from January to September, marking the second-highest results from this time frame, just behind the 2008 record of 712,000 visits.

Canadian spending was also up 19%, for a record £624 million across the U.K. from January to September.

Plus, there were new records for holiday visits and spend for the first nine months of 2019, with visits up 18% and spend up 25% on the same period in 2018.

“2019 has seen consistently strong results for Canadian inbound tourism to the U.K., demonstrating Britain’s continued ability to compete internationally for visitors in a fiercely competitive global environment,” said Gavin Landry, VisitBritain Executive Vice President. “Britain is a favourite destination for Canadians and these strong numbers show how much Canadian enjoy exploring all that Britain has to offer. Canadians see value for money and it is a great time to visit the U.K., particularly in the off-season when your dollar goes further.”

Since May 2019, Canadian citizens can use ePassport gates, giving them easier and faster entry into the U.K.