Pound’s plunge sends tourist spend soaring in UK

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 26, 2016

Tax-free shopping rose 45% in the UK in the latest quarter as the pound’s plunge made British stores a magnet for fashion and luxury goods shoppers, a new report shows.

Prices in the UK have become significantly cheaper in recent months after the EU vote result sent the pound’s valuation down sharply. It is now around 20% cheaper to shop in Britain than it was in early June.

The result has been an influx of shoppers into London’s key luxury stores but flagship malls around the country have also reported rising sales.

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Specialist duty-free shopping company Premier Tax Free said tourist spending that qualifies for duty free status has risen steadily since the late June EU referendum with visitors from the Middle East particularly prominent.

Middle Eastern transactions rose 48% last month with Saudi Arabians more than doubling their spend for an extra 117%.

Events such as China’s Golden Week have continued the spending increase into the autumn season, Premier said, and the Hindu Diwali celebrations are likely to boost late October and November turnover.

Golden Week was the most successful ever in the UK with a 30% increase in spending by Chinese tourists. The average transaction was £1,256 per visit during the week starting October 3.

Chinese visitors had already been increasing their UK spend ahead of the EU vote with a Visit Britain report showing that Chinese spending rose 18% to £586m in 2015.

A similar rise to the 30% uptick is forecast linked to Diwali and Premier also expects the sales surge to carry on into 2017 as long as the pound stays weak.