International visitors spent a record £1.5bn across Britain in February 2014 representing a 45 per cent increase on February last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In what is traditionally one of the quieter months, visits in February were also up nine per cent in February 2014, with holiday visits posting double digit growth (25 per cent).

Visits from Europe were the main driver of overall visits growth, followed closely by ‘rest of world’ markets. This was despite reports from hotels and shops of a 17 per cent drop in spending from Russian visitors – among the top five biggest-spending tourists – amid political unrest in Ukraine.

ONS figures show the three months to February remain in the black, with visits up five per cent and nominal spend up 21 per cent year-on-year.

“The strong results continue to prove that tourism has a key role to play in the wider success of the British economy,” said VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe.

“Tourism may not be a tangible product, but it’s a major export earner for this country which VisitBritain sells overseas. Last year earnings topped a record £24 billion, which is more than crude oil and cars.”

Dawe’s comments chime with figures released by the Tourism Alliance last week, showing that, over the last three years, the tourism industry had created a new job every six minutes.

“The increasing number of overseas visitors year on year bears testament to the enduring appeal of the UK as a leading tourist destination,” added head of hospitality and leisure at Barclays Mike Saul.

“The sector continues to gather strength supported by generally favourable macro-economic conditions and by the contribution of overseas trade bodies.”