Selfridges losses narrow amid calls for return to VAT-free shopping October 11, 2023 The net loss for the year was £38.9m a stark improvement from an £83.9m dip it posted in the same period last year.
London Stansted Airport passenger revival sparks fresh calls to scrap tourist tax October 10, 2023 London Stansted airport has beaten pre-pandemic passenger levels for the second month running, sparking fresh City calls to scrap the so-called 'tourist tax.'
Tourism tax: Heathrow sees rise in Chinese visitors — but they are not splashing the cash October 2, 2023 Chinese visitors have returned to numbers close to those before the pandemic — but they are not spending like they used to. Heathrow has reported that Chinese visitor numbers were at 88 per cent of 2019 levels in July, but the airport said their spending at its shops was only 33 per cent of what [...]
Forget Miami beach: why Miami’s cocktail bars are the city’s best attraction September 25, 2023 When someone mentions Miami, what springs to mind? Swaying palm trees and pastel-shaded art deco buildings? Don Johnson as ‘Sonny’ Crockett, his jacket sleeves rolled up, sipping on blue libations? It certainly has a retro backdrop, but, perhaps surprisingly, Miami has lately become the hottest place in America for mixology. The city has 300 sunny [...]
The winners and losers of London’s work-from-home economy: The City, the Wharf and the Burbs September 17, 2023 The pandemic may have ended, but the lasting work-from-home culture has changed how people splash their cash – and invariably it’s on a Thursday now. Empty restaurants, but heaving happy hours in pubs, is the perhaps biggest shift for the hospitality sector as consumers change their habits to meet a new work-life balance. A new [...]
A case for cutting business rates? Just look at our high streets September 11, 2023 The UK's declining high streets tell us all we need to know about the success of our punitive tax regime.
The Notebook: Charles Tyrwhitt boss on how the ‘tourist tax’ is hurting London September 11, 2023 Where the City’s movers and shakers get a few things off their chest. Today, it’s Nicholas Wheeler, founder of tailored shirts specialist Charles Tyrwhitt.
New York’s last affordable Manhattan property is way better value than London September 7, 2023 At Inwood Hill Park, New York, there’s a metal plaque pointing out where Manhattan was sold from native Americans to a Belgian coloniser in 1626. The land was exchanged for the lowly price of some trinkets and beans. A tulip tree had marked this spot for 280 years but when it died in 1938 it [...]
Tourist tax means UK is missing out on £1bn ‘Brexit boost’, MPs warn September 7, 2023 Britain is missing out on a £1bn pound “Brexit boost” for as long as it fails to reinstate VAT-free shopping for international tourists, MPs have warned.
Tourist tax must go, urge business leaders in last-minute plea to MPs September 5, 2023 A group of business leaders, including Gatwick Airport’s chief executive, have backed a letter by BusinessLDN making a final call to the government to scrap the so-called “tourist tax” days before the issue is set to be debated in parliament. The lobby group, which represents some of London’s biggest firms, has asked Chancellor Jeremy Hunt [...]