Visit London said that in the first three months of 2004 there was a 10% rise on international visitors on the same period last year.

There has also been month-on-month increase in numbers of passengers at Heathrow, Stansted and Luton airports this year.

But domestic visitors are down which has been blamed on the poor weather.

The report also shows the estimated expenditure by visitors was �1.3bn, up 11% on 2003.

London continues to inspire, excite and entice visitors time and time again Visit London chief executive David Campbell

London hotels have recovered steadily since the outbreak of war in Iraq.

Occupancy levels in May and June rose by 12.7% and 5.4% respectively over last year.

Overall, the number of visits made to major free museums in London equalled 2.13m in May, up 0.9% compared to last year.

Attendance levels are still on target to match the record numbers posted in 2002, when more than 27m visits were made to free museums in London.

David Campbell, chief executive of Visit London, said: 'We are delighted with these results.

"London continues to inspire, excite and entice visitors time and time again and we will continue to work hard to ensure that visitors make the most of their time in our vibrant capital."