Figures show there has been a 44.5% rise in Chinese Visa cardholders visiting the UK for July, outdoing Australian and French visitors.
The increase is divided by spending on the high street, which increased by 40% and supermarkets, which increased by 79%, with around £20 million being spent on clothing on high streets and in department stores.
UK & Ireland managing director Visa Europe, Kevin Jenkins said: “China is one of the fastest growing sources of tourism income for the UK and it looks set to become an important driver of growth for the sector, spending on cards has seen a significant boost as Chinese tourists travel to the UK, confident in the use of plastic overseas.
“The simpler twin visa system for Chinese nationals already looks to have given a big summer boost to the UK’s retail and tourism industries. Going forward it will be interesting to see whether our data indicates a short-term boost or a genuine shift in Chinese tourism to the UK.”
Jenkins added: “With shopping a top attraction for Chinese travellers, UK retailers are likely to consider additional ways to appeal specifically to this audience. Pre-travel marketing, multi-lingual staff and new product lines in store may be three things we see more of.”
