London sees surge in ultra-wealthy private jet tourists on shopping trips

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 24, 2017

The appeal of London as a luxury shopping destination was further underlined Monday as news emerged that private jet operator GlobeAir has seen a surge in demand for London flights. That surge has come as even the wealthiest shoppers visit the city to take advantage of the luxury bargains created by the post-Brexit vote weakness of the pound.

The Austrian company said London-bound flights this year have risen 53% compared to a year earlier.

But the increase has also been driven by the larger number of luxury stores opening in Britain’s capital with research this year for the Savills Global Luxury Retail report showing that more luxury stores have opened in London than any other major city, including key locations like Paris and Dubai.

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A raft of luxury brands have highlighted their improving sales in British stores during the last year with American, Russian, Chinese and Middle Eastern shoppers having made the country a must-visit destination and with London benefitting most.

GlobeAir’s chief marketing and sales officer Mauro De Rosa said the broad spread of luxury names and the appealing prices were the key factors that have significantly boosted London’s allure with a huge percentage of luxury shoppers looking to spend their disposable income outside of the countries in which they live.

The pound has dropped 14% against the US dollar since June 2016, as well 15% against the euro and 11% against China’s renminbi and shows no signs of picking up any time soon.