Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow were once famous for their "dark satanic mills" and as grimy symbols of the industrial revolution. Now, a new survey shows they are being seen as "hip and fashionable" international tourist destinations.

The survey, by national tourism agency VisitBritain, found London was the top destination for international tourists, with an average of 15 million overseas visitors staying overnight in each of the last four years, followed by Edinburgh with 1.3 million. It is based on an analysis of overnight stays by overseas visitors in UK cities between 2006 and 2009.

However, Manchester is firmly in third place with about 900,000 international visitors.

Birmingham attracted 737,000 overseas visitors while Glasgow catered for 687,000 foreigners.

Liverpool, European capital of culture in 2008, attracted an average of 162,000 foreign visitors staying over in each of the past four years.

Read the full article: Guardian

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