Thai visitors among the UK’s big shopper league this Christmas
WEALTHY foreign visitors are expected to keep Britain’s tills ringing over the crucial Christmas period, with spend from Thai tourists outpacing all other nationalities so far this year.
Thai visitors are the fastest growing consumers of luxury goods in the UK this year so far, with spending up 53 per cent compared to the 37 per cent growth by the Chinese, according to figures out today by tax-free shopping services firm Global Blue.
Visitors from Thailand, which has benefitted from domestic economic growth, splurged £749 each on average per transaction, overtaking the £745 spent by Chinese visitors but still short of the £771 splashed out by visitors from the Middle East.
Shoppers from the Middle East, China, Russia, Nigeria and Thailand accounted for 64 per cent of the total spend to date this year.
With millions of tourists expected to visit the UK – which means, by and large London – in the run up to Christmas and the Boxing Day sales, Global Blue predicts this will rise further.