Chinese New Year might be the biggest U.K. retail opportunity
January 28, 2017 marked the beginning of Chinese New Year, with millions of tourists from Asia expected to flock to the UK to celebrate the start of the year of the rooster
Data from Visit Britain suggests that flight bookings from China to the UK are up 81 % compared to the same month last year. Aside from this being an important opportunity for retailers in terms of sheer numbers, it is especially so due to the surprise prominence of Chinese tourist spend since the Brexit vote.
For Chinese visitors, prices are the equivalent of 11 % cheaper in the UK than they were a year ago. This means tourists from China spend an average of 15 days in the UK, compared with just eight for other countries, and spend more than three and a half times that of the average tourist, roughly GBP 2174 per person.