While 2012 host city London and Scottish capital Edinburgh maintain their positions as the two most popular destinations for inbound visitors, places such as Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Windsor have shown that the Olympic spirit is alive and well across the UK, with many other regional towns also benefiting from a stopover by international guests.

When researchers looked at all types of visits, host city London came out as the top destination with 14.7 million overseas visits. It was followed in second place by Edinburgh, with 1.3 million overnight visitors.

Manchester, home to Old Trafford and host to both men’s and women’s Olympic football matches, sits in third place with 811,000. Local rival Liverpool comes in at sixth (452,000 staying visits).

Placed in the top five with 551,000 overnight stays is Glasgow, which will see Olympic football matches take place at Hampden Park. The city will also play a key role in the Cultural Olympiad celebrations.

Cardiff at twelfth is the next highest Olympic city, with 260,000 overnight stays. The city will have the honour of hosting the very first event of the 2012 Games when Team GB’s women’s football team kick off the tournament at the Millennium Stadium.