Tourist businesses in the UK: history and main directions of the development of the industry

The article presents an overview of the tourist potential of the UK, including the history of development of tourism in the country, the main areas of inbound and outbound tourism, the structure of public sector management, as well as development prospects. Particular attention is paid to the statistics of inbound and outbound tourism of the UK in recent years; described in detail are the most popular tourist routes, including not only historical and cultural sites, but also the basic directions of business, sports and music tourism. Using domestic and foreign sources (books, periodicals, electronic resources), the author gives a detailed description of the tourist business in the UK as one of the largest sectors of the economy, but also notes that the historical facts and recent data indicate significant prospects for further sustainable development of tourist interest to the UK, its cultural heritage and modern achievements in science, industry, business. It is likely that the forms of organization of tourism in the United Kingdom will change and improve, but the flow of tourists to the UK will not dry up, including from Russia. At the heart of it will remain the dominant business, educational and cognitive forms of tourism.