The number of Britons travelling to the USA saw a significant increase in January, new figures have revealed.

Statistics released by the US department of commerce show that UK arrivals rose by almost six per cent to almost 250,000 during the month, accounting for nearly four in ten of all visitors from western Europe.

JFK Airport in New York, Miami and Los Angeles were the top three destinations for overseas visitors during the month.

Meanwhile, Honolulu, New York Newark and San Francisco took fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively. In total, 3.4 million overseas visitors travelled to the USA during January.

"The strong start in 2008 builds on the momentum set in 2007, which was a record-breaking year for international arrivals and receipts," commented commerce manufacturing and services assistant secretary William Sutton.

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, 18.3 million Britons travelled overseas between December 2007 and February 2008.

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