• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google plus
• Linkedin
• Mail this event
• Print this event

Studies from tourism organisation VisitBritain has shown that Mexican tourists are most likely to buy souvenirs when holidaying in Britain.

As international jetsetters, we Brits know how it feels to make our return flight from a holiday with more luggage than we left with, and it seems that across the world, tourists' suitcases are also brimming with souvenir tat their family may (or probably may not) want.

Research just published by VisitBritain shows that Mexicans are the biggest spendthrifts - at least when it comes to souvenirs, with almost half (43%) of visitors purchasing holiday gifts to take home with them, followed by Brazilians, on 39 per cent.

Although just 1% of tourists to Britain said that they were visiting Britain to go shopping, almost two thirds (62%) say that they buy clothes, accessories, bags, cosmetics, books, electronics or souvenirs to take home from their trip.

Naturally, clothes and food top the list of items most commonly purchased by tourists to the country, but holiday souvenirs are the third most popular choice of item, whether travelling by air, sea or by tunnel, with more than two in five holiday visits including some shopping for souvenirs.

Scotland and London top the list of areas that tourists are most likely to buy holiday souvenirs, possibly due to the amount of souvenir shops littering the high streets of tourist hotspots, making them nearly impossible to miss.

With visits topping more than 30 million each year from countries across the globe to visit our cities, historic houses and seaside resorts, there's a bucketload of extra cash being brought into Britain. In 2012 tourists and visitors to Britain spent £4.5 in our shops, with souvenirs and gifts accounting for a whopping £1.6 billion of this.

The top ten countries where visitors are most likely to buy holiday souvenirs are: