Foreign visitor retail spend will bounce back
The current terrorism threats are unlikely to affect tourist retail spending for long, according to tax refund services provider Global Refund.

The group forecasts that retail sales to non-EU shoppers will drop by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent over the next one to three months, but will be back up to last year's levels in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year.

It expects the turn-down to affect the middle market more than luxury brands.

A recent European Union shoppers' trends survey by Global Refund found that foreign visitors were becoming increasingly resilient to the threat of attacks, as travellers became used to the apparent risks.

For the six months from January to July, sales were up 26.5 per cent against the same period last year. The average spend per person increased by 7.8 per cent to£415.

The non-EU tourist shopping market is worth£2 billion, with£1.6 billion being spent in London alone.

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