London, described as world’s most visited city has become a favourite tourist attraction for Indians as visitors from the country grew nearly 28 per cent from last year, Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said.

According to figures from the Mayor’s official tourism and investment agency, London & Partners, the number of Indian tourists is now at a five-year high, with 1,45,000 visitors in the first half of 2012 — up 28 per cent from 1,13,000 in the same period last year.

Over the last three years, the number of visitors from India and the wider Asia region has risen dramatically, with spend from Asia now accounting for almost 10 per cent of the total tourism expenditure.

The Mayor outlined what makes London the best big city in Europe both to invest in and visit, a statement from his office here said.

“London’s boundless opportunities, both as a vibrant international destination and a phenomenally well-connected business and investment hub, are ripe and plentiful — especially for surging emerging economies like India’s,” Johnson said.

“As well as wooing record numbers of tourists from India, London is also attracting leading Indian firms in the leisure and hospitality sector, creating jobs and growth for the capital,” he said.

London is now a key location for India’s expanding leisure businesses seeking an international platform, since the significant business and leisure travel into the capital has led to hotel occupancy levels rising consistently over 80 per cent in the last five years.

Leading hotel operator Lalit Suri Hospitality has announced that it has acquired the heritage building, St Olave’s, near Tower Bridge for £15 million.

And the Bird Group, one of the largest diversified business conglomerates in India, had acquired Royal Park hotel near Hyde Park early last year and have since upgraded it from a 4-star to a 5-star establishment.

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