By Sarah Gordon
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Of the 31 million people who visited Britain last year, half spent at least one night in London, while of the 12 million holidaymakers who came to these shores, two-thirds based themselves in the capital for at least a night.
Now Visit Britain is looking at how it can shift holidaymakers' focus and encourage them to explore the UK's other delights, with new tourism campaigns and extra information supplied to its tourist offices abroad.
Visit Britain offices around the world are going to be given special packs to help them better 'sell' the delights of Britain, from Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, which appeared in the Harry Potter films, to Stonehenge and experiences like our country pubs and canal network.
Standing tall: Visit Britain is keen to promote alternative attractions outside London
These will tie in with an extension of Visit Britain's hugely successful 'GREAT' campaign, which has targeted key cities in key markets with films and image-led print adverts showcasing what makes Britain great.
Two problems the tourist board faces are convincing the rest of the world how small and easy-to-navigate the UK is and how driving on the left is not as daunting as it seems.
While Edinburgh remains the second most popular tourist destination after London, many tourists miss cathedral cities such as Lincoln, York, Winchester and Salisbury. However, Bath and Windsor often feature on itineraries for their heritage and royal links.
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And while regional airports have encouraged visitors to other cities such as Liverpool, few explore rural spots, despite the abundance of picturesque villages, traditional pubs and verdant landscapes.
Visit Britain is keen to highlight that it is not trying to encourage visitors to avoid London, but that it has spotted an opportunity for 'London Plus' tourism, with visitors combining the capital with other experiences.
Heritage: Tourists could be encouraged to visit Cathedral cities like Lincoln
The latest research by Visit Britain found that London remains the key draw for visitors, but the majority of those questioned would like to combine it with trips to destinations up to two or three hours away.
However, knowledge about what else to see in Britain can be scant in some markets, with holidaymakers concentrating more on ticking off the top sights in the capital.
On a more positive note, the reasons cited for wanting to travel beyond London include wanting to explore more heritage sites, to add variety to their itineraries, to find unique places to stay and see the countryside and to see how British people live.
Visit Britain's aim is to approach tourism to the UK much as they do in countries like Italy, where visitors are keen to explore cities like Venice and Florence as much as Rome.
Drink it in: Pubs are an important part of British culture
In Italy, visitors spent just 13 per cent of their stay in Rome, while in France, tourists spent just 26 per cent of overnight stays in Paris. However, in the UK, 41 per cent of overnight stays are spent in London.
A spokesperson for Visit Britain confirmed: "We compete against a number of other destinations where overseas visitors tend to visit a wider range of locations. We want visitors to enjoy brilliant London but then extend their stay by visiting? other parts of Britain, something our research proves they are keen to do."
But tourism figures for the UK so far this year are positive, showing a 2 per cent rise in visitors during the first five months of the year and a a 10 per cent spike in cash generated.
The ?25million 'GREAT' image tourism campaign - which has targeted 14 major cities in nine countries ? is also performing well on the international stage, especially when compared to competitor tourist boards with substantially larger budgets.
Nearly three-quarters of the audience in target cities recall seeing the 'GREAT' campaign and 23 per cent of those who recall the campaign plan to visit in the next year.
Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain said: "In 2012 Britain became the first Olympic host since Sydney to see an increase in inbound tourism in the year of the Games.
"The GREAT campaign is playing a major role in our efforts to attract a greater number of overseas visitors, with those seeing our images increasingly likely to visit the UK in the next few years. It is essential that we continue to deliver this campaign in our high value tourism markets and the growth markets of the future if we are to enhance overseas perceptions of Britain as a must see destination."
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