Overseas visitors spent a thumping £552 million in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset last year as more foreign tourists headed west in the year after the Olympics, official figures show.
The extra 264,000 foreign visitors to the peninsula meant their spending in the region was £72 million higher than in 2012.
Tourism bosses had argued Britain would reap more economic benefits in 2013 than in the actual year of the London games following the global exposure.
And more foreign tourists could be tempted to visit the far South West this year after Britain's overseas tourist board said it wanted to make the countryside the centrepiece of its next campaign. The flood-hit Dawlish line in Devon was one of the iconic images of the winter floods, and its malaise broadcast across the world gave the impression the South West was closed for business.
But the VisitBritain quango has produced a poster featuring a train running on a fully functioning Dawlish line. Previously images in their campaign have been emblazoned over buses in Berlin and on the Paris Metro.
Tourism is the lifeblood of the Devon and Cornwall economy but they rely principally on domestic business. Yet the latest Office for National Statistics figures show how the region is increasingly popular with foreigners.
Germany has long had a love affair with region after falling for the charms of author Rosamunde Pilcher, whose romantic novels set in Devon and Cornwall have been adapted for television since the 1980s.
Last year, Devon, Cornwall and Somerset attracted 1.3m visits from abroad – 536,000 in Devon (up 148,000), 319,000 in Cornwall (an increase of 16,000) and 496,000 in Somerset (up 101,000).
It meant more money being spent at the region's hotels, restaurants and attractions. Some £259 million was spent by foreign tourists in Devon, up £58 million on the previous year, and £127 million in Cornwall, though this was down £1 million, and £166 million in Somerset, up £16 million.
Nationally, visitors from the Middle East were the big spenders during last year's record 12 months for UK tourist income from foreign residents.
Previously announced figures showed that spending by overseas visitors in 2013 totalled £21 billion, a 12.7% increase on 2012.
More detailed figures, assessed on spending by day, showed visitors from the Middle East – excluding the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – forked out the most last year, parting with an average of £173.
UAE visitors came next, averaging £156 per day. Third were visitors from Egypt (£149), with Nigeria fourth (£143), Norway fifth (£142) and Denmark sixth (£140).
The French made the most visits last year, at 3.93 million, but they were only the 37th biggest spenders, averaging £71 a day.
Germans made the second-most visits – more than 3.16 million – but their average daily spending only reached £74.
Tourism Minister Helen Grant said: "The number of overseas residents visiting the UK is at an all-time high and they're spending more money than ever before too. This shows how strongly our tourism sector is performing, playing a vital role in the economy's upturn."
Christopher Rodrigues, chairman of VisitBritain, added spending growth was faster outside of London.
He said: "These strong results underpin the forecast that inbound tourism will continue to grow by over 6% a year across the rest of this decade, making a significant contribution to the UK's balance of payments and continuing to offer rapidly growing employment opportunities.
"Tourism is, and always will be, a major part of the British economy."
