BUSINESSES in Hampshire are on course to cash in on a £185m bonanza from international visitors this year as figures reveal that the influx of outsiders means more than £1 billion to the local economy a year.

Latest official figures show the county made £173m from overseas business and leisure travellers in 2003.

That could rise by £11.6m this year if Hampshire manages to achieve the growth rates predicted for the UK as a whole.

VisitBritain, which sells the UK to overseas markets, has forecast the country as a whole will see a 9.7 per cent increase in the number of overseas visits to Britain, and a 6.7 per cent increase in tourism earnings, over the two-year period.

Tom Wright, chief executive of VisitBritain, the organisation behind the British Travel Trade Fair, a UK travel and tourism exhibition, said: "The prospects for the year ahead are looking very positive with all regions of Britain set to benefit.

"As VisitBritain continues to exploit the potential of new and emerging markets, and with the signing last month of Approved Destination Status with China, BTTF will be a key opportunity for us to showcase the jewels of British tourism to the rest of the world."

According to government figures, Hampshire welcomed 520,000 overseas visitors in 2003. If the VisitBritain projections are reflected across the county, that number could leap by 50,500 this year.

However, those figures pale in comparision to the number of overall trips to the county - the majority from people in the UK - which totalled some 38 million day visitors, which included families and friends.

More than six and a half million tourist trips were made in 2002, when latest figures were available, generating more than £1 billion for Hampshire in income and 253million nights of accommodation.

The New Forest - soon to be a national park - and the Isle of Wight were the two areas people were most interested in visiting in the south-east region.

Hotels and restaurants in the south-east generated £4.35 billion alone in goods and services, according to 2002 figures from the Office of National Statistics.

That is up £1.35 billion from five years ago, showing the growing importance of tourism, which provides a living for tens of thousands of people in the county.

Graeme Barnett, BTTF event director, said: "These figures highlight the enormous importance of the travel and tourism industry to local and regional economies."

The annual British Travel Trade Fair - this year's two-day event starts on March 2 at Birmingham's NEC - attracts thousands of international and domestic tourism professionals looking for original ideas for holiday tours, conferences and meeting venues.