THE UK has become a holiday hotspot for European tourists for one very unlikely reason.
While most holidaymakers plan their summer trips to coincide with warm weather, tourists from hotter climates are booking holidays to the UK to escape the heat.
In the last few weeks, parts of mainland Europe have experienced 40C heatwaves as well as wildfires that have erupted at popular holiday hotspots.
In a bid to escape the sweltering temperatures, holidaymakers from Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey have been turning to the UK in recent weeks.
In an article in the Huffington Post, Bernard Donoghue, who is the Director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, which includes the National Trust and English Heritage, confirmed the spike in tourist numbers.
He said: "We’ve seen a real boom in visitors from Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, to London, in particular, over the last three weeks."
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Dubbed "drizzle tourists" by industry experts, these holidaymakers are embracing the UK's washout summer.
Instead of spending their holidays at UK beaches, European tourists are heading to museums, art galleries, and other indoor attractions.
And it's not just European tourists who've been embracing the British downpours, American holidaymakers are also booking last-minute trips to the UK.
Rob Russell, travel expert and boss of inbound travel specialist AC group, told the Telegraph: "We are seeing a lot of unusual late demand from American travellers for the UK and Ireland in the last 10 days and I do believe that this potentially could be as a result of the press coverage of the wildfires and heat in the Mediterranean.
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"For those who are looking to travel but not keen on the heat… we could be seeing a late switch to the UK."
While the rain may offer some relief to heatwave-hit countries, Brits who are on staycations in the UK are less than impressed with many slamming the conditions on social media.
One person Tweeted: "The UK summer has been the same washout that it often is."
And another added: "Just the usual washout summer in the UK, there's no heat here."
This July saw one of the wettest summers on record for parts of England and Northern Ireland.
But the weather isn't the only reason American tourists have been drawn to the UK in recent years.
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Tourists from across the globe have been flocking to visit the real-life places that have inspired blockbuster films and famous TV dramas.
One of those places is Richmond, in southwest London, which recently rose to fame as one of the filming locations for the hit television show Ted Lasso, which stars Jason Sudeikis.
A bespoke Ted Lasso walking tour has even popped up in Richmond with the owner swamped with bookings from US tourists.
Other parts of the UK have also become famous thanks to the film industry.
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The Kent town of Margate was featured in the new Hollywood blockbuster Empire of Light, starring Olivia Colman.
It became so cool that Americans started moving to the seaside town
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