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.

“Britain continues to be a desirable destination for international travellers, with a range of world-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 Britain 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.