The number of overseas visitors to Britain has increased by four percent year-on-year in the three months ending in April to reach 8 million, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.

The figure was five percent higher than that of the previous three months, latest official figures showed.

In the 12-month period ending in April, the number of visits to Britain by overseas residents went up by three percent compared with a year earlier.

The number of overseas visits made by British residents, meanwhile, rose by six percent to 14.1 million in the February-April period from the previous three months, and was up by one percent year on year.

Total spending by overseas visitors in Britain was up by one percent to stand at 4.5 billion pounds (about 7 billion U.S. dollars) in February-April compared with the previous three months.

ONS statistics showed that overseas earnings increased by five percent to 18.1 billion pounds in the 12 months ending April of this year, while expenditure by British residents remained broadly the same at 31.3 billion pounds.