US and Gulf Visitors are Highest Spenders in UK Shows Report

According to a new research, the visitors from USA and Gulf states spend the most among the visitors to the UK.

UKinbound and VisitBritain tourism board revealed the data by studying the spending habits of UK inbound visitors.

The Gulf state visitors are the most lucrative individuals although USA dominates the total UK inbound market spend. All the six GCC markets come in the top 10 for highest spend per visitor. Qatar and Kuwait lead the way in first and second position, respectively.

Further studies show that tourists from Denmark, South Korea and Israel, meanwhile, spend significantly more on live entertainment than average.

Those from Nordics, Benelux countries, USA, Italy and Spain rank in eating out highly, making their restaurant expenditure proportionally higher than the global average.

Latin American visitors rank above average for spending more on enjoying the UK's tourist attractions and exhibitions.

According to the International Passenger Survey, over 37.6m people visited the UK in 2016 (a 4% increase on 2015), spending £22.5bn (an increase of 2%).

July and August saw the highest spending last year and the second half of 2016 had higher expenditure than the first half. Also, the exchange rate remained favourable for inbound visitors in the second half which added to the graph.

UKinbound's chief executive officer, Deirdre Wells OBE, said: "We are delighted to present these results alongside industry partner VisitBritain. The findings provide a valuable insight regarding inbound visitors' spending habits and provide further evidence of the incredible contribution that tourism makes to the UK economy. Further understanding our visitors will allow our members to tailor their itineraries, products and services, ensuring the UK remains a world class tourism destination."

VisitBritain's chief executive officer, Sally Balcombe added: "We want Britain to be top of people's list as a ‘must-go now' destination. Understanding more about what our visitors want, and getting a fast read out of where they spend their money, will ensure we get the right products to them at the right time. The insights from this type of research are invaluable for the industry and crucial for us staying a competitive travel destination."