London’s West End achieved the highest visitor attractiveness score as part of the quantitative analysis, performing well in terms of overall accessibility and cultural amenities. This is reflected in London’s position as one of the most visited city destinations by international tourists (MasterCard’s Global Destination Cities Index).

The drivers of London’s appeal to international visitors

London’s 2012 Olympics did an incredible job at marketing London on the global stage but it is not the only reason why international tourist numbers continue to grow. In MORI’s 2015 Global Power City Index London was ranked first and second in terms of Cultural Interaction and Accessibility, respectively across the 40 cities they examined globally. It is this cultural appeal and ease of access that has helped to underpin the growing attraction of London to international visitors.

London’s strong international accessibility is demonstrated in the passenger numbers handled by London’s two principle airports, Heathrow and Gatwick. Both airports serve an average of 190 destinations and handled a total of 115m passengers in 2015, 3.4% up on the previous year (see Figure 7). This exceeds the passenger numbers handled by its comparator city airports, although in growth terms it lagged behind Dubai, Hong Kong and New York pointing to some potential capacity constraints.

^{Source: Anna Aero; Airport websites; CAA}

^{Note*: Estimated totals for 2015 based on YTD performance.}

^{Data is based on the two largest international airports in each city, where relevant.}

Visa requirements play a key role in determining the attractiveness of a city for international visitors. There are approximately 90 nationalities that can visit the UK (London) without a visa or on an electronic visa waiver. While this is lower than Hong Kong and Singapore, the UK scored better against the US and even the Eurozone countries of France and Italy. Ease of the visa application process is also critical as highlighted by the need to improve the system for Chinese nationals, an initiative New West End Company has been instrumental in driving forward.

The UK China Visa Alliance (UKCVA) has been successful in its lobbying to introduce a simplified visa process, including a new two-year visa for Chinese nationals visiting the UK and London. This extension of the British visitor visa will help to redress this balance potentially attracting an additional 265,000 Chinese visitors to the UK each year.

These visa improvements and London’s continued international appeal will help maintain its position as one of the top Global City destinations for international tourists. Forecasts from Oxford Economics suggest that overnight visitor numbers to Central London will expand by an average of 3.9% between 2016 and 2020. However, the gap between London and some of the other Global Cities could narrow over this period with Hong Kong and Dubai forecast to report average growth in overnight overseas visitors of 9.8% and 9.7% respectively (Figure 8).

^{Source: Oxford Economics}

London’s West End’s retail district offer is an added draw for international visitors. It is home to over 600 stores and 120 international brands, with globally recognised addresses such as Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street, making it one of the world’s largest retail destinations. Shopping unsurprisingly therefore features as a key activity for international visitors to London with 81% engaging in the activity at some point during their trip. Two percent of these state that their only reason for visiting London is to shop.

The reason why shopping is a key activity for international visitors is due to the quality and variety of retail brands concentrated in London’s West End’s retail district, ranking second only to Dubai in terms of its retail offer as assessed via the quantitative metrics (see Figure 9).

^{Source: Savills Research}

The retail offer score takes into account the proportion of units occupied by retail brands, brand variety, brand profile and presence of flagships across its three streets relative to their comparator retail locations in the other Global Cities. London’s West End’s retail district premier luxury destination, Bond Street, scored very well in terms of its retail offer topping the luxury street rankings of the Global Cities.

For example, 96.5% of all ground floor uses on Bond Street are occupied by retail brands as opposed to 82.1% on Avenue Montaigne in Paris suggesting a more focused retail experience on Bond Street. This meant it also scored well in relation to its brand profile. All of the top 10 luxury brands by value, as identified in Millward Brown’s 2015 Brandz list, have a presence on Bond Street. The only other luxury location to achieve this was Shoppes @ Marina Sands Singapore, which considering its size and the fact that it is purpose built is understandable.

London’s West End’s healthy retail offer score is reflected in the location survey responses. Eighty-six per cent of West End respondents said they agreed/strongly agreed with the statement that London’s West End ‘has the best choice and quality of shops in the World’ ranking it third behind New York and Dubai and making it a European leader when compared to Paris and Milan (Figure 10).

A feature not taken into account in the retail offer score, but one which has added to the appeal of the West End as a retail destination is the walkable proximity of the three premier destinations of Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street. Add to this its strong public transport accessibility and its cultural and hospitality amenities, means London’s West End’s is a unique international retail destination, further enhancing its visitor appeal.

^{Source: Oxford Economics}