§ Mr. Chapmanasked the Paymaster General what is his latest estimate of the number of United States tourists expected to visit Britain in 1986.
§ Mr. TrippierFollowing record levels of incoming tourism in 1985 the upward trend was sustained during the first quarter of 1986 when visits from north America were up by 15 per cent. However, during April visits from north America to Britain fell by 19 per cent. over the corresponding period last year. We have no firm predictions for the rest of the year but the British Tourist Authority reports that traffic is now picking up again. This should be reflected in the figures for the number of visitors to Britain which will be available later this year.