UK retail spend by tourists to remain subdued
We've heard a lot about how tourist spending remains subdued in the UK following the withdrawal of the VAT-free perk post- Brexit, but that muted spending isn't about to change any time soon it seems.
A new study shows that inflation and the strong pound will also dampen down tourist spending growth in Britain up to 2030.
A study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), initially reported by The Times, showed that real spending per tourist will lag behind the overall expected growth rate of Britain's economy over the next half-decade. It seems that while tourist numbers remain strong, the amount they're spending isn't that impressive.
The report said the weak growth will be just half of the growth in the wider economy.
It comes as the UK's inflation continues to be higher than that of other major tourists destinations such as the EU, the US and China. Even as inflation drops from its highs of a few years ago, overall prices in the UK have risen by 26.6% in the past six years. That means prices of the products tourists might buy, as well as other spending areas such as accommodation, dining and travel are proportionately higher than in those other destinations. And that's without taking the impact of the strong pound into account, which means tourists get fewer pounds for their dollars, euros, yen or renminbi.
But of course, the ending of the 20% VAT refund perk for tourists is the big factor deterring high-spending visitors. That perk stopped in January 2021 with numerous reports showing that London's key shopping districts, in particular, have suffered as tourists have gone to other shopping cities such as Paris and Milan.
The CEBR also said new electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) for European visitors and the air passenger duty rise has added both cost and complexity to visiting the UK.
Based on figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and tourism board VisitBritain, it added that 'tourists are expected to spend less per visit in real terms in 2025 than in any other year over the past decade, with the exception of 2020'.
As for that projection that tourist spend will lag the growth of the UK's economy, the report said VisitBritain believes there will be 43.4 million tourists visiting Britain this year. They're expected to spend £33.7 billion in 2025.
By 2030, the government wants to increase international visitors to the UK to 50 million. But the CEBR said that 'current spending patterns suggest that meeting this ambitious target would result in only a 6.5% increase in real-terms expenditure compared with pre-pandemic levels'. It added that if real spending per visitor rose back to its 2019 level, tourist spend would be up a healthy 22.4%.
The point about all this is that higher volumes of tourists aren't enough, it's boosting 'the value of each visit [that's] key to unlocking tourism's full economic potential'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
41 minutes ago
- Euronews
Is tourism possible without overcrowding popular destinations?
Who doesn't like travelling? We visited the famous Count Dracula's Castle in Transylvania. This destination is one of the most visited in Romania, attracting around one million tourists a year. Travel can be a great experience, but tourism also poses challenges to society. Many tourists want to visit the most iconic landmarks. How can tourism be redistributed? 'We would like to influence tourist behaviour but it's not easy," explains Eugenio Van Maanen, researcher at the Breda University of Applied Sciences and leader of the European "Tourism in Balance" project. "How do we encourage them to discover alternative destinations, which are less crowded but which offer equally fascinating experiences?' This is the question the European project, "Tourism in Balance", co-funded by Interreg Europe, is trying to answer. Launched in 2023 to transform the tourism industry,, six European cities and regions - Rome, Amsterdam, Seville, Tallinn, Krakow and Brașov - guided by the Breda University of Applied Sciences, have been sharing knowledge, strategies and best practices to improve tourism. "The main objective of the project is to help partners improve strategies and policies to overcome the problem of overtourism. How? By distributing tourists in space and time," explains Van Maanen. The partners are currently meeting in Brașov, in the heart of Transylvania. This city, with a new airport, has great tourism potential. Although it does not yet suffer from overcrowding, it does have all the ingredients to become an overcrowded city. Institutions in Brașov want to learn from the challenges already faced by project partners in Amsterdam, Rome or Seville, in order to avoid the same issues. Our goal is the sustainable development of the entire metropolitan area, including urban and rural regions. If we can divert the flow of tourists from the most overcrowded areas to less visited places, the whole community would benefit," says Alina Nicoară, deputy director of the Metropolitan Agency of Brașov. The agency has launched one of the region's flagship initiatives to redistribute tourism: the Gastro Local Programme. Inhabitants of rural areas, such as the village of Vama Buzăului, located near the Valea Zimbrilor nature reserve, open their homes to offer home-cooked meals to visitors for a fixed price of 16 euros. Gastro Local is an association of local people who "started up in the city because there were no restaurants here", explains Alina Tonie, one of the programme's cooks. An irresistible aroma emanates from her kitchen. Alina, and the other Gastro Local locations, serve exquisite food made with local produce. The conditions for this programme, beyond a fixed price per menu excluding drinks, includes successful completion of health inspections by local authorities. In addition, 70% of produce must be locally sourced. Alina tells us that most produce is organic, made by local producers. "What we offer to tourists is what we eat as a family," says Alina. This ensures a unique gastronomic experience, which also benefits tourists, residents and local producers. If you are visiting Transylvania, this is certainly an exceptional opportunity to discover the region away from the tourist crowds.
Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
5 things you need to think about before setting up a business in France
With the French employment sector not always easy for foreigners to access, it's common for people planning a move to France to think about setting up on their own - either as a freelancer or contractor or even setting up a small business. Sectors such as tourism are especially popular with foreigners - for example running a gîte or chalet, or setting up a bike hire company - since this allows people to use their knowledge of English to good effect, but there are many other sectors that foreign residents get involved in. While some people want to set up a small business, others operate as self-employed, freelance or contractors. But although this is a good way of working that works for many people - there are some important questions to ask before starting out. 1. Do you have the right to be self-employed in France? Citizens of an EU country can skip this bit, but non-EU citizens need a visa in order to move to France and you need to ensure that your visa is compatible with working in a self-employed capacity. Some visas, such as the visitor visa, specifically require you to state that you will not work in France while others - such as the salarié - are only available to people who have a job contract in France. The most common visa type for self-employed/freelance workers is the entrepreneur visa, although you may also qualify for the 'talent' visa which is aimed at highly qualified or highly paid workers. Advertisement Certain types of vie privée visa also allow self-employed work, while Brits who benefit from the post-Brexit Article 50 card are allowed to do all types of work, including being self-employed or running a business. READ ALSO: What type of visa do I need for France? 2. Is your chosen field a regulated profession? In France certain jobs are counted as professions réglementées - regulated professions - which require specific qualifications. If you obtained your qualifications outside the EU, you will need to apply for your qualifications to be recognised. Not all non-EU qualifications are recognised in France so you may end up having to take extra exams, depending on the sector. There are more than 250 regulated professions in France - find more information here . Even if your profession is not regulated, you will naturally be required to adhere to French laws, which may be different to those in your home country - for example if you want to set up a café or hair salon you will need to abide by French health, safety and hygiene standards. Advertisement For this reason it is often recommended that people take a course in the relevant rules before they get started, just to ensure that they are fully up to speed with French rules and regulations. 3. Have you calculated your earnings with French taxes and social contributions deducted? If you are working in France then you are subject to French taxes and social security contributions - these can be high, especially if you are employing any staff, so when calculating your expected income you will need to take these into account. If you are employing staff you will need to pay employer's social security contributions too, which makes hiring people quite expensive. You also need to be aware of the rules around hiring freelancers - if you hire someone on a freelance basis but your work makes up most or all of their income then you could be guilty of "disguised employment", which is illegal. 4. Remember to register your French business . . . If you are setting up any kind of business in France, or setting up as a freelancer or contractor, you need to register your business with URSSAF. Advertisement If you are setting up a small business or as a freelancer or contractor, then you might benefit from the micro-entrepreneur status. This is designed to be a simplified system aimed at people working for themselves or starting out in business in a small way. It has an annual limit on earnings - €188,000 for retail or sales or €77,000 for services - and if you go over that limit you will have to change the registration. READ ALSO : Micro-entrepreneur: How to set up as a small business in France✎ Depending on the type of working you are doing, you may also need to register with the professional guild or local business organisation. 5 . . . And do a tax declaration Once your business is registered then URSSAF will deduct your social charges, but that is only half the story - you will also need to complete the annual tax declaration in order to pay taxes on your earnings. You can find more information in our taxes sector here . . . . And a note about remote work For some foreigners the ideal compromise is to live in France and work remotely for a company back in their home country. This has historically been regarded as something of a grey area, since most of the rules were written before remote working became widespread. However, that the French tax office has recently clarified that they consider this to be 'work in France' - as they consider it is your location that matters, not the location of your clients. This has potential knock-on effects for both your residency and tax status - full details here . You can also finds lots more information on all aspects of working life in our Working in France section
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
UK retail spend by tourists to remain subdued
We've heard a lot about how tourist spending remains subdued in the UK following the withdrawal of the VAT-free perk post- Brexit, but that muted spending isn't about to change any time soon it seems. A new study shows that inflation and the strong pound will also dampen down tourist spending growth in Britain up to 2030. A study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), initially reported by The Times, showed that real spending per tourist will lag behind the overall expected growth rate of Britain's economy over the next half-decade. It seems that while tourist numbers remain strong, the amount they're spending isn't that impressive. The report said the weak growth will be just half of the growth in the wider economy. It comes as the UK's inflation continues to be higher than that of other major tourists destinations such as the EU, the US and China. Even as inflation drops from its highs of a few years ago, overall prices in the UK have risen by 26.6% in the past six years. That means prices of the products tourists might buy, as well as other spending areas such as accommodation, dining and travel are proportionately higher than in those other destinations. And that's without taking the impact of the strong pound into account, which means tourists get fewer pounds for their dollars, euros, yen or renminbi. But of course, the ending of the 20% VAT refund perk for tourists is the big factor deterring high-spending visitors. That perk stopped in January 2021 with numerous reports showing that London's key shopping districts, in particular, have suffered as tourists have gone to other shopping cities such as Paris and Milan. The CEBR also said new electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) for European visitors and the air passenger duty rise has added both cost and complexity to visiting the UK. Based on figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and tourism board VisitBritain, it added that 'tourists are expected to spend less per visit in real terms in 2025 than in any other year over the past decade, with the exception of 2020'. As for that projection that tourist spend will lag the growth of the UK's economy, the report said VisitBritain believes there will be 43.4 million tourists visiting Britain this year. They're expected to spend £33.7 billion in 2025. By 2030, the government wants to increase international visitors to the UK to 50 million. But the CEBR said that 'current spending patterns suggest that meeting this ambitious target would result in only a 6.5% increase in real-terms expenditure compared with pre-pandemic levels'. It added that if real spending per visitor rose back to its 2019 level, tourist spend would be up a healthy 22.4%. The point about all this is that higher volumes of tourists aren't enough, it's boosting 'the value of each visit [that's] key to unlocking tourism's full economic potential'.
