New figures show that the number of visitors to the UK has dropped for the first time in seven years.

The number of visitors to the UK has fallen for the first time since 2001 as tourism figures for 2008 drop 2.7% compared with the previous year, according to the annual Travel Trends report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Business travel appeared to suffer the most, with business trips falling 25%, while the biggest drop in overseas residents was experienced in the decline of US travellers to the UK – down 600,000.

Trips made by UK residents abroad also declined last year, dropping 9% in the last quarter of 2008 and 0.6% overall.

Conversely, spending both abroad and inbound to the UK reached record levels in 2008, increasing 2.3% (£16.3bn) and 5.2% (£36.8bn) respectively.

Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive of Visit Britain, the national tourism organisation, said: “The decline in visitor numbers in 2008 was certainly not unexpected. The figures illustrate the continuing challenges of maintaining Britain’s popularity as a destination as the global economic downturn began to bite and in the face of increasing competition from rival destinations.”

However, figures for the three months from March to May 2009 have shown a 3% increase in the number of visitors to the UK to 7.5m people, with tourist spending in the country rising to £4.1bn (6%).