Security concerns have deterred some potential visitors

A total of 2.48 million visitors came to the UK in July, down from 2.58 million in June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported.

Spending by tourists fell �60m to �1.13bn ($2bn), the ONS said.

Britain's tourism industry has expressed fears that the London attacks could result in �300m in lost trade.

A campaign is under way to encourage people to visit central London.

Reluctance

Designed to give a much-needed boost to retailers and tourist attractions, the campaign was launched by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone last month.

Research carried out since the bomb attacks on 7 July has indicated that security fears are making many people more reluctant to visit London.

A survey by TNS in August found that a third of French people and a fifth of Germans asked had been discouraged from coming to London.

A spokesman for the Office for National Statistics said it would be wrong at this stage to attribute the fall in total UK visitors to the London bombings.

"There has been no discernible effect on overall visitor numbers from the bombings at this stage," he said.

He added that the number of visitors from North America - a core market for the UK and London in particular - had been falling since the start of the year.