United Kingdom » Tourism

London is an important hub for tourists, and the city is home to an array of famous tourist attractions. Although the majority is located in Central London, others can also be found outside the city centre. The City of London is home to St Paul's Cathedral, with the Tower of London and Tower Bridge just outside its official boundary.

The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace bring visitors to the City of Westminster to the west, which also counts many of London's top museums and galleries amongst its attractions, including the British Museum, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, the Tate Britain, London Zoo and Madame Tussaud's. Royal attractions are always popular as well as the various palaces, Horse Guards Parade is a ceremonial photo opportunity, whilst nearby Downing Street is home to the Prime Minister.

One of London's airports saw a record number of passengers lifting off its tarmac last year, as nearly 400,000 took flight a 24 per cent increase over 2004. And for the first time in its history, the number of passengers from outside London exceeded Londoners 55 per cent from the region. The growth coincides with a solid year for Tourism London. The city played host to 34,236 visitors last year, an increase of 2,000, or five per cent, from 2004. Tourism is very important to the British economy. With over 27 million tourists a year, the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world.