VisitBritain has revealed Britain's major museums and galleries earned the country £1 billion in revenue from overseas tourists last year.

A new report on the nation's culture and heritage has shown the country's many free world class museums are a particular draw to international visitors, especially those from across the Channel.

In 2009, 7.7 million of Britain's 30 million inbound visitors ventured to a museum. Almost one in eight (960,000) of these were French, making them the top visitors to our museums, just ahead of the Americans. Over half a million Germans and Spanish also visited our museums.

Art galleries also proved to be a draw for international tourists as they attracted 4.2 million people in 2009. Although Brazilians and Argentineans did not arrive on these shores in droves, they are the most ravenous culture vultures, with two-thirds of the South American visitors making a trip to a gallery.

Sandie Dawe, chief executive, VisitBritain, said: "This survey showcases the international appeal of Britain’s culture and heritage - where else could you see Grand Masters next to cutting edge installations, a Spitfire hanging next to a Dali?"

"We are fortunate in the authenticity of what we have to promote and the connections that our rich culture makes across the world. Tourism is the golden thread running through the cultural sector, delivering the economic benefits of our world class culture and ensuring that these great works and museums continue to be appreciated."

According to the statistics, when it comes to visitor characteristics equal numbers of males and females visit both museums and art galleries within each age group with the exception 16-24 year olds, where females are more frequent visitors.

We are also now in the most popular period to visit museums and galleries - July to September.

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