The UK is likely to need more hotel furniture, if the rate of increase in overseas tourist visits continues as it has so far in 2014.
Newly published figures by VisitBritain show how the GREAT campaign has helped towards a 7% increase in overseas visitors to the UK in the first seven months of 2014.
In total, 19.8 million visits to Britain were recorded between January and July, up 7% over the previous year, and the strongest seven-month period on record.
The previous year was by no means poor though, with a record-breaking 32.8 million inbound visits over the full 12 months of 2013, and spending by international tourists is forecasted to grow by more than 6% per year throughout the remainder of the decade.
Christopher Rodrigues, chairman of VisitBritain, said: "Delivering a record year for inbound tourism is a tribute to the industry, our commercial partners and the national boards who have supported our activity.
"VisitBritain is proud to have played its part, particularly in its delivery of the GREAT campaign and bringing in private-sector funding to maximise the government's investment in tourism - Britain's fifth-largest export industry."
Of course, tourism is a curious 'export industry' in the sense that rather than shipping goods overseas, international spend is achieved by virtue of a net influx of visitors from abroad - and they all need somewhere to stay.
With efforts continuing to maintain the rapid pace of expansion in international tourism into Britain, hoteliers and those throughout the hospitality sector need to be prepared to accommodate an ever-increasing number of guests.
Good hotel furniture is a must if these international visitors are to feel welcome, comfortable and at-home, and that begins from the moment they walk through the doors of any establishment.
A well-furnished seating area at the main entrance is an excellent starting point, as it gives weary travellers somewhere they can immediately take a rest, either while they wait to check in, or after they have done so but before they go up to their room.
In the room, a soft but sturdy armchair is a sensible addition too, so guests have a place to sit that does not require them to simply perch on the end of the bed.