Two of Britain’s landmark cities are home to some of the world’s costliest hotel stays, according to figures published by Hotels.com.

The data revealed that average prices across the world have risen 4 per cent in the first six months of this year, with prices in London increasing by 9 per cent to stand at an average of £127 per night.

Such an increase sees London rank as the 23rd most expensive in the average list, which is headed by Monte Carlo, where hotel rates rose 21 per cent to £223.

Elsewhere, stays in Edinburgh were up 7 per cent, while Dublin had increased by as much as 10 per cent.

In Europe, London’s closest competitor Paris failed to move either way and remained at an average of £127 per room, while a stay in Barcelona had increased by a pound to £105.

However, despite the increases, demand for the UK’s tourism industry has remained consistently impressive, with figures showing that Britain achieved a record year for tourism numbers in 2013.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics have also shown that the first half of this year has proved to be a record for UK tourism, with 16.4 million inbound visitors coming to Britain from January to June 2014.