Visitors from Kingdom spend £1900 pounds a day Saudi Arabian citizens visiting London during their summer holidays spend more money than other foreign visitors and even more than the Brits themselves, according to a new report. Saudi tourists who escape the Gulf’s soaring summer temperatures, spend up to £1900 pounds a day in London shops, compared to £550 for visiting U.S. citizen, and £120 for the native Brits , according to a report issued by London & Partners and published by Times magazine on Sunday.
Tourists from fellow gulf country, the United Arab Emirates, ranked 23rd in terms of total number of visitors to Britain, and were ranked 18th in terms of expenditure with an average of £1194.
The report furthermore says that the number of Saudis visiting London is set to go up to by 22.1% on an annual bases and visitor spending is predicted to increase by 70%, UAE visitor numbers are set to go up to120,000 in 2012, a 10% increase from last year.
International visitor numbers are also expected to increase by a 5.7 percent and associated spending to swell by 10.6 percent, fueled by the Quenn Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic Games, according to Master Card Global Destinations Cities Index report on June 12.
In London, tourism has always been a flourishing sector and a popular Gulf Arab destination during the summer holidays particularly after a French ban on Islamic face veils.