London receives more US tourists than visitors from the rest of the UK

0a1a1a1a-5
0a1a1a1a-5

It’s a minimum of 4,242 miles and a five-hour flight away (or as much as 11 hours direct to the west coast) and yet of all the visitors to London, a quarter (25%) come from America. Even outstripping tourist numbers from the rest of the UK by 6%, America provides more London tourism than anywhere else in the world.

The new research, conducted by award-winning independent accommodation management company, Guest Ready, reveals which nationalities are most likely to visit the UK capital, how long they’re likely to stay and how much they’re likely to spend. This data could help independent holiday accommodation owners to better target potential guests.

While more tourists come to London from America than from anywhere else, the US market is by no means the biggest spender. While the typical American holidaymaker will spend £566 (US $786) on accommodation, putting them in sixth place on the spending chart, visitors from India spend almost £250 more, averaging £812 (US $1,128) per stay. Indian tourists do only account for 1% of London’s visitors, however.

The other top spending visitors to London are:

• United Arab Emirates £766 ($1,064)
• China £662 ($920)
• Singapore £575 ($799)
• Brazil £565 ($785)
• Canada £554 ($769)
• Australia £543 ($754)
• Israel £522 ($725)

Conversely, Brits are some of the lowest spenders, averaging an accommodation spend of just £438 ($609) for a 5.8 day stay.

Americans are also far from being the visitors who spend the most time in London, typically racking up 5.5 days per trip, putting them in ninth place – even the Brits stay longer. The tourists who’s stay is of the longest duration come from Hong Kong. Although again only making up 1% of the city’s tourists, when Hong Kongers stay in London they average an 8.1-day break, spending £744 (US $1,034) in the process.

The Guest Ready research also revealed which parts of the city attracted the most visitors from each country. The Kensington area of SW5, for example, received 34% of its visitors from the US, while Brits favour the cheaper area of N7 Holloway – near enough to Camden Market to be appealing, without the prohibitive costs of locations closer to town.

GuestReady co-founder and CEO, Alexander Limpert, comments: ‘Marketing is everything when you’re running any small business, but it can be difficult for small, independent holiday letters to ascertain exactly who they’re marketing to, and where they’re most likely to succeed. This data shows that if you have an apartment to let in Westminster, for example, your most likely guest is going to come from America – 19% of all W2 visitors come from the US, followed by 16% of Brits and 9% French. Knowing this can help you style your property – and your advertising – to appeal to that demographic.

‘It might not seem that important, but it can make a big difference to your annual letting return.’

About the author

Avatar of Chief Assignment Editor

Chief Assignment Editor

Chief Assignment editor is Oleg Siziakov

2 Comments
Newest
Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Share to...