The high street may be buried in recession-related gloom; however Britain remains one of the world’s most preferred destinations for overseas shoppers looking to splash their cash.
Findings released by the national tourism agency, VisitBritain, shows that 18 million foreign visitors spent an impressive £4.5bn in Britain’s shops in 2011, a total spend of £17.9bn. That means they spent, on average, a quarter of their total spending on department stores, high streets and shopping centres across the UK.
Over half of the shopping spree was on clothes, with an estimated £2.3bn generated by fashion-conscious foreign tourists. Many visitors also snapped up gifts, souvenirs and household goods, on which they spent £1.6bn.
Further examination of the research found that a ‘shopping’ tourist spends more – an average of £680 for each trip – than an ‘ordinary’ overseas tourist who typically spends £580. And shopping in Britain was ranked above France and the same as Italy in terms of value for money.
The findings, based on information from the Office for National Statistics’ International Passenger Survey, show that London’s world-class stores, shops and markets are a major attraction for foreign visitors. Around 81 per cent of holiday visitors to London hit the shops. The regional benefits are also strong, with between two-thirds and three-quarters of holiday tourists shopping outside the capital.
At a time when UK consumers are reining in high street spending due to falling incomes and economic uncertainty, the amount of revenue being generated by tourism offers some relief to those retailers benefiting from the spending.
Given the importance of tourism to the economy, what do you think we should be doing to attract more overseas visitors, particularly to areas outside of London?
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