Trafalgar Square has been named the UK’s top tourist attraction, although inbound visitor numbers have decreased.

Trafalgar Square has topped a poll of the ten most popular tourist attractions in the UK, according to international visitors.

The report, by travel money solutions provider First Rate Exchange Services, surveyed tourists from the USA, Ireland, France, Germany and Spain.

The majority (72%) stated that London was the main city attraction, with only the French stating other areas and attractions, such as Edinburgh Castle and Oxford.

Americans were most likely to visit Buckingham Palace, while the Irish were most likely to visit Oxford Street’s shops. Interestingly, in contrast to UK citizens holidaying abroad, most inbound visitors to the UK used travellers’ cheques or a travel money card, rather than credit or debit cards.

Gordon Gourlay, Managing Director First Rate Exchange Services, commented on the value that inbound tourism gives to the country: “The inbound tourist market is potentially big business for UK FX [foreign exchange] retailers. Each year, inbound tourists spend around £17 billion in the UK, almost £6bn of this is in sterling purchased either at ATMs or over the counter FX retailers.”

The top 10 destinations for inbound tourists were revealed to be:

1.    Trafalgar Square
2.    Tower Bridge
3.    London museums
4.    Buckingham Palace
5.    Oxford Street
6.    The London Eye
7.    Windsor Castle
8.    Edinburgh Castle
9.    Stonehenge
10. Globe Theatre, London

However, inbound tourism for 2009 remains a “challenging period” for the UK, according to VisitBritain, the national tourist authority. It predicts that tourist volumes will decline throughout the year and that the industry value is likely to remain “static”.

Its mid-year update, published in June 2009, reported that total inbound tourism spend would equate to £16.8bn, while visitor numbers would decline by 5% to 30.3 million.