Cambridge: Top 10 Tourist Destination

21 May 2013, 06:11 | Updated: 21 May 2013, 07:16

New research by Visit Britain shows Cambridge was a top ten destination for overseas tourists last year.

398,000 people visited the city from abroad in 2012 putting it at number 8 on the list.

London accounted for more than half the visits overseas tourists made to the UK last year, according to latest figures.

Of the 31 million trips foreign residents took to the UK in 2012, a total of 15.46 million were to London, statistics from VisitBritain showed.

Edinburgh was the second most-visited destinations, with more than 1.25 million visits, with Manchester third (932,000), Birmingham fourth (713,000) and Liverpool fifth (550,000).

VisitBritain strategy and communications director Patricia Yates said: "Last year we welcomed 31 million overseas visitors and hope to attract one million more in 2013."

"2012 has certainly helped change the world's perceptions of Britain, and there is real potential for us to attract 40 million international visitors a year by 2020".

Minister for tourism Hugh Robertson said: "We showcased the very best of Britain last year encouraging overseas visitors to come and see for themselves what our great country has to offer."

Top 10 destinations in terms of visits by overseas residents in 2012

1. London - 15,461,000

2. Edinburgh - 1,256,000

3. Manchester - 932,000

4. Birmingham - 713,000

5. Liverpool - 550,000

6. Glasgow - 521,000

7. Oxford - 430,000

8. Cambridge - 398,000

9. Bristol - 395,000

10. Brighton and Hove - 345,000