US tourists 'flocking' to Britain

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More Americans are visiting the UK but the number of Britons travelling to the United States has declined in the last year, figures have shown.

North Americans made 7% more visits to the UK in the first 11 months of 2006 than in the same period in 2005, the Office for National Statistics said.

But the number of Britons who flew to North America declined by 9% last year despite a favourable exchange rate.

Some tourism experts think US airport security checks could be a factor.

They have suggested the delays - as a result of the increasing levels of security - as a possible reason for the decrease in UK visits.

Overall, the Office for National Statistics said overseas residents made 29.69m visits to the UK during the January-November period in 2006.

They also spent £14.1bn during those months - up 8% on the previous year's total.

Meanwhile, UK residents made 64.37m visits overseas in the same period last year, an increase of 3%.

They spent £31.53bn during their visits - 3% more than in the same period in 2005.