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Indians leave British hearts pounding

Julia Finch

— PHOTO: AP

The Big Ben, a famous London tourist spot.

London: Indian visitors to London spent more than Japanese tourists for the first time last year — underlining the scale of the emerging Indian middle class and the strength of the Indian economy.

Figures from Visit London show that Indian tourists spent £139 million last year — up from £107 million a year earlier and £78 million in 2003. About 2,12,000 Indians visited London last year, up from 1,30,000 in 2003.

At the same time Japanese tourists — for so long regarded as part of the scenery at the capital's tourist attractions — are in decline.

Some 2,30,000 Japanese nationals visited London last year, spending a total of £123 million, compared to the 4,34,000 who came to London in 2000.

Record numbers of overseas tourists visited London last year — more than 15 million, representing a 9.4 per cent increase on 2005. They spent £7.5 billion.

Visit London's International Passenger Survey also shows that last August's airport security alerts had little impact.

The foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, the 9/11 attacks and the Iraq war all hit tourist numbers. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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