Tax-free shopping business Global Blue reports 7% rise in spending for July as visitors from Asia and US find their currencies go further

The sharp drop in the pound has attracted tourists to the UK on shopping sprees, driving a jump in tax-free spending by overseas visitors, according to industry figures.

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The tax-free shopping company Global Blue said visitors from Asia and the US have been taking advantage of how much further their own currencies will go in the UK since the June referendum. It reported a 7% year-on-year increase in UK international tax-free shopping in July.

Japan, Indonesia and the US were the nations that accounted for the biggest increase. Despite Japan’s own economic problems, spending by Japanese visitors was up 96% in the UK compared with July 2015, while travellers from Indonesia spent 88% more than last year on tax-free shopping.

Chinese tourists’ spending was up just 6% for July, but the country still accounted for the largest portion of spending overall, with a 32% share.

The figures echo comments by the Office for National Statistics last week that there were signs the fall in the pound since the referendum, which has made holidaying in the UK cheaper for overseas visitors, had attracted tourists on shopping sprees for luxury goods. Sales of watches and jewellery in July were up 16.6% on the same month last year, according to those official figures. That tourist boost combined with better sales of summer clothes to help drive an overall bounce in retail sales in July.

Global Blue, which works with retailers, brands and hotels around the world, said travellers from the US also capitalised on the dollar’s strength against the pound. The pound has dropped about 12% since the referendum on 23 June. In July US visitors’ average spending in the UK rose 22% year on year to £734.

Global Blue noted smaller growth in July from Middle Eastern visitors and put that down to the late timing of Ramadan this year. But Qatar remained the nation with the highest average spend per transaction for July, at £1,642.

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Gordon Clark, Global Blue’s UK and Ireland managing director, said the pound’s fall had proved perfect timing for tourists visiting the UK this summer.

“The cash injection we have seen off the back of this has been hugely beneficial for our tourism economy,” he said.

There have also been reports from hotels of a jump in tourist spending since the referendum.

Edwardian Hotels London said it had seen a 31% increase in the value of reservations since the referendum. People were taking advantage of the weaker pound to stay in more expensive rooms and suites, said Linton Wadsworth, director of revenue at the company, which has 12 hotels in London and Manchester.

“The US market is second to the domestic traveller for us so it’s reassuring to see that even in an election year which notoriously reduces outbound travel for Americans, that London is enjoying such a bumper summer holiday season,” he said.