Tourists still fuel high-spend sales

High-spending shoppers continue to travel to the UK, research by Global Refund confirms.

The tax refund service said despite tourist numbers falling, those that do visit are fuelling high value transactions.

The decline in the number of transactions has improved from -42 per cent at the end of March to -9 per cent at the beginning of this month.

A Global Refund spokesman said travellers from the Middle East are leading a recovery in sales. Business travellers and tourists visiting friends and family are continuing to spend.