Duty Free - Chinese Tourists Spending on the Rise

Last year Chinese tourists bought almost two-thirds of luxury goods sold in Europe as they went on a record spending-spree.

In 2011, one million Chinese tourists spent their holidays in the UK. According to official figures, their favourite cities to visit are London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge. 

London is known throughout the world for its upmarket shopping. Famous luxury brands are sold in many stores such Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis, Top Shop and Marks & Spencer. Individual boutique shops for marques such as Gucci, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Asprey and Chanel can be found close by in Bond Street or Knightsbridge. All these shops operate the tax-free rebate scheme, whereby international visitors from outside the EU can recover the tax on their purchases when returning home.

Companies operating the “Tax Refund – Sales Tax Rebate Scheme” for tourists include: Global Blue, Tax Free Worldwide, or UK Tax Refund, to name a few.

The tourism organisation Visit Britain said that the number of Chinese visitors to the UK has increased by 50 per cent in the last year. The average Chinese visitor to Britain spends around £1,700 which is more than three times the global average standing at £567.

This is backed up further according to Global Blue, a company that analyses spending by different nationalities. Chinese consumer's spend on tax-free shopping in the UK increased by 82 per cent over the year to August 2011.

For Chinese tourists, arrivals duty free shopping is a great opportunity. Due to existing tax rates in China, shopping overseas is so popular for Chinese visitors. Import duties on luxury cosmetic products and alcohol are 35%-60%, plus the VAT tax of 17%.