A delegation of London's luxury brands launched an event in China on 17th, Sep to attract more Chinese tourists, and help Britain’s business.
A delegation of London's luxury brands launched an event in China on 17th, Sep. to woo rich tourists as the latest figures reveal a fall in tourism spend in the capital.
The group, led by organisations London Luxury Quarter, VisitBritain and British Airways, has kicked off the event at The Langham Xintiandi in Shanghai to attract ultra-high net worth Chinese shoppers to British luxury brands.
The delegation includes representatives from Fortnum & Mason, Browns Fashion, Gieves & Hawkes, Selfridges and John Lobb. Their showcase, called 'London Luxury. By Appointment', will then move to St. Regis hotel in Chengdu for further appointments next week.
The trip coincides with the latest statistics from tax return specialist Global Blue which has found tourist spend in Europe – including London - is down 2.5% year on year for July and August as currency changes and political tensions cause tourists to stay at home.
Laura Levy, a luxury analyst at Barclays, said Russian tourism spending in Europe was in double-digit decline, down 13.4% in August, while Chinese tourism spending was up just 2.7% - significantly below the year to date average of 11.8%.
Experts suggest the unrest in Russia and Ukraine, the strong pound and euro, and global political tensions are to blame for the slowdown in tourism spending across Europe this summer.
But despite the recent weakness the Chinese tourism market is a key target for London's businesses.
'London Luxury By Appointment' is part of a plan by the UK to increase visits and sales from Chinese consumers with a focus on ultra-high net worth travellers, rather than mass-market tour groups.
Retailers have been campaigning to improve Chinese tourism into the UK for some time with access to visas a big issue.
The Home Office, following a campaign by the UK Chinese Visa Alliance, recently launched a pilot scheme which enables Chinese travellers to apply for the UK visa in the same processing centre as the Schengen visa but retailers want more to be done.
Joss Croft, marketing director at VisitBritain, said: "Britain and luxury go hand-in-hand and it's something we continue to excel at.
"This campaign, with key partners across the sector, will actively seek to attract the ultra-high net worth Chinese travellers who we know have a real thirst for British luxury. We'll capitalise on this and give them exclusive access to Britain's wide array of luxury hotels, shops, restaurants and spas."
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