Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Brexit vote sends tourists flocking to London to ‘buy, buy, buy’

By voting to leave the European Union, Britons have delivered a potential windfall to tourists eager to snatch up Burberry trenchcoats, Harrods Stilton and Liberty scarves on the cheap.

The outcome of Thursday’s referendum sent the British currency plunging, making the country’s goods and services cheaper for foreign buyers. Consumers reacted immediately: Searches by Chinese for UK holidays “skyrocketed” on Ctrip.com International Ltd.’s travel booking app, the company said, while Chinese news site Phoenix implored visitors to London to “Buy, Buy, Buy.”

A slumping pound is a much-needed shot in the arm for UK luxury companies as the Chinese are the biggest buyers of high-end goods and make most of their purchases overseas. They made 270,000 trips to the UK last year, up 46%, according to tourism website VisitBritain. British Airways owner IAG SA said Tuesday that the weaker pound will boost tourist flows to the UK

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chinese and Middle Eastern tourists flocking to the UK as their purchasing value has increased,” said Edouard Meylan, chief executive officer of Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. “People are ready to travel to get a 5 to 10 to 20% discount.”

More visitors to the UK would be a boon for British companies such as Burberry Group Plc and Mulberry Group Plc that have struggled amid slowing luxury demand and terror attacks in Europe. The UK is the world’s sixth-largest market for luxury spending, at 15.5 billion euros ($23.3 billion). Britain’s gain could come at the expense of retailers in Japan, casinos in Macau and jewelers in Hong Kong.

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