As the dollar continues to weaken, international shoppers—specifically from Britain—are taking advantage. The pound exchanges for $2, and the euro fetches roughly $1.5. That means practically everything in the U.S. is on sale for foreign visitors. And apparently their choice destination is NYC, where they can load up on American designer brands—such as Ralph Lauren, Gap, Levis, and Marc Jacobs, amongst others—for a fraction of the price they would pay back home.
According to the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), the number of UK visitors to the US rose by 8% last year, to 4.5 million. Britons accounted for 41% of all tourists from western Europe. New York is the most popular American city for British tourists and, according to NYC & Company, the UK is their number one inbound international market, beating its geographical neighbour Canada into second place. In 2007, the number of British tourists to New York City rose by 25%.
“The combination of the weak dollar and the increased access via air travel has obviously helped. For the Brits, the city is essentially on sale,” says Heywood. In 2007, 92% claimed that they came to New York for shopping, while only 69% said they could be bothered to do any sightseeing. Well, you can’t bring back the Empire State building, right?
In 2006, British tourists spent $1.64bn in New York City and, on average, each visitor spent about $1,400 per five-day visit, including hotel costs. Figures for 2007 are not yet available, but Heywood predicts a “comfortable rise”.
A weak dollar also means things are a lot more expensive for U.S. citizens traveling abroad.
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