Everything that Jeremy Hunt has thrown out of the mini-Budget

The Telegraph Tim Wallace, Hannah Boland, Charlotte Gifford, Lauren Almeida and Eir Nolsoe 17.10.22 Tourists will not benefit from the return of tax-free shopping to Britain as Mr Hunt sought to claw back £2bn in savings, prompting fierce criticism from industry leaders. Retailers said the U-turn would be a hammer blow to tourism and the high street. Paul Barnes, chief … Read More

UK falling behind EU rivals on tourist spending after duty chances

Financial Times Daniel Thomas 07.03.22 Britain is losing its position as the favoured destination for high spending international tourists to the EU after the government abolished tax-free shopping at the start of last year, according to a new study. Global Blue, the tax-free shopping refund agency, compared the behaviour of Gulf state tourists in the EU in 2019 with their … Read More

How the UK became the sick man of European tourism

CNN 13/11/21 A spokesperson for the UK’s Association of International Retail told CNN that the axing of the scheme is predicted to lead to a drop of 38% in retail sales to non-EU visitors, compared to 2019 — a loss of £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) to the economy. But that’s not all. “There are also likely to be indirect losses as high-spending … Read More