Visitors from GCC countries spent more than SR5.5 billion on shopping in Britain in 2007 with Saudi travelers topping the list. On average, each Saudi visitor to Britain spent around SR7,080 on shopping alone in a two-week stay there, said Alana Ngoh, an official of a PR company that promotes the Visit Britain campaign in the Middle East. The Saudi spending figures did not include other expenses such as hotel accommodation and food, he said. Quoting statistics from Global Refund (VAT), a market-leading supplier of financial services for the merchant which has a local presence in 37 countries, Ngoh said the United Kingdom was one of the top shopping destinations for GCC travelers, with visitors from the region spending a total of SR5.5 billion on purchases in 2007 alone. “A testament to the popularity of UK's tourism, Saudi Arabia is the leading market in terms of individual visitor spending within the UK – followed by the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait – making the Gulf one of the UK's most lucrative visitor markets,” he said. Around 84,000 people from Saudi Arabia visited Britain in 2007, he said quoting statistics from International Passenger Survey (IPS), a UK-based survey agency. However, he said the number of visitors included both Saudis and other nationalities. According to IPS he said the average stay for a Saudi visitor in Britain last year was 18 days. The most preferred destination for the Saudi visitors in Britain was London, Alana Ngoh said. Around 70 percent of Saudi travelers last year stayed in London and other popular areas included southern England and England's North Country. The majority of visitors from Saudi Arabia preferred to stay at hotels, however many also stayed with friends and relatives or in their own houses in Britain. __
