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Dee Corsi, New West End Company (NWEC) chief executive, has called the government’s decision not to end the tourist tax a “missed opportunity”.
Ahead of the latest Budget in March a number of business leaders called upon Jeremy Hunt to scrap VAT on purchases made by tourists but Hunt resisted the calls.
According to data from NWEC, international visitors made up 57% of all spending in the West End in 2019, compared to 44% in 2023.
Corsi stated that NWEC submitted evidence to the Treasury to show how the loss of tax-free shopping is affecting the West End.
Speaking to Retail Week, Corsi said: “Spending is down materially compared to 2019, so whilst people are visiting, they’re not shopping in the same capacities that they used to. It’s not just about the West End though, as tax-free shopping has the opportunity to benefit the whole nation.”
“That would open up a whole new tourism ecosystem for [people from other] countries to do some shopping while visiting other attractions in London, Newcastle, Birmingham and more. It’s a missed opportunity as it stands.”
She added: “It’s not a forecast, we give real data to show what’s happening and we’ll continue to do that whilst hopefully trying to prove the opportunity of bringing it back to the whole of the UK.”
