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London Receives More US Tourists Than Visitors from the Rest of the UK – Guest Ready Reveals

Aspire Executive Lounges, Swissport's global airport hospitality brand, has joined the British Institute of Hospitality, the world’s leading and award-winning membership body for hospitality professionals. Aspire Executive Lounges becomes the first business partner from the airport lounge hospitality sector to join the Institute of Hospitality. Aspire Executive Lounges, the fast-growing Swiss brand in the airport hospitality business, has joined the British Institute of Hospitality (IoH), the world’s leading membership body for professionals working and studying in the hospitality leisure and tourism industry. Aspire Executive Lounges is the first business from the airport lounge sector to become a member of IoH. The collaboration will foster an exchange of expertise and insights: IoH will benefit from Aspire's expertise in airport hospitality, while Aspire, by sharing its wealth of experience with IoH members, can extend its professional network to the hotel and catering sectors and hospitality management schools. “Our vision for Aspire Executive Lounges is clear and simple: We want to deliver a guest experience that is similar to what our guests are used to from their preferred hotels, meeting the needs and exceeding the expectations of today’s travelers,” says David Collyer, Global Vice President of Executive Lounges at Swissport International AG. “We strive to deliver an unparalleled experience and set a benchmark that transcends our industry, redefining excellence across the hospitality sector. The Institute of Hospitality is a great network to exchange insights and experiences, and to learn from others in the hospitality sector, which will help us bring our vision to life.” Robert Richardson, CEO of the Institute of Hospitality: “Our aspiration at the Institute of Hospitality has been to develop and grow our membership, the number of countries we operate in, and the number of hospitality sectors represented within our organization. With that in mind, it is a natural partnership for us to welcome Aspire into our family, and to learn from their teams, who serve travelers with passion and dedication. As two organizations with similar values, we look forward to collaborating in promoting high levels of excellence within our profession.” With over 30 years of experience, Aspire Executive Lounges is Europe’s largest brand in the airport lounges sector. In 2023, Swissport welcomed more than five million customers worldwide at over 69 lounges in 20 countries. The airport hospitality brand recently opened new lounges at Toronto City Airport in Canada, and Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Finland. Aspire Executive Lounges recently created a new lounge concept in partnership with the airline alliance oneworld. The first oneworld branded lounge was launched at Incheon Airport in Seoul, Korea, in December 2023. Aspire Executive Lounges is owned by Swissport International AG, the global leader in aviation services, serving airlines at 286 airports in 44 countries across 6 continents
Written by Amy
  • 25% of all overseas visitors to London come from the USA
  • Travellers from Hong Kong typically spend longer visiting London than other nationalities
  • Visitors from India spend the most on accommodation when staying in London

It’s a minimum of 4,242 miles and a five-hour flight away (or as much as 11 hours direct to the west coast) and yet of all the visitors to London, a quarter (25%) come from America. Even outstripping tourist numbers from the rest of the UK by 6%, America provides more London tourism than anywhere else in the world.

The new research, conducted by award-winning independent accommodation management company, Guest Ready, reveals which nationalities are most likely to visit the UK capital, how long they’re likely to stay and how much they’re likely to spend. This data could help independent holiday accommodation owners to better target potential guests.

While more tourists come to London from America than from anywhere else, the US market is by no means the biggest spender. While the typical American holidaymaker will spend £566 (US $786) on accommodation, putting them in sixth place on the spending chart, visitors from India spend almost £250 more, averaging £812 (US $1,128) per stay. Indian tourists do only account for 1% of London’s visitors, however.

The other top spending visitors to London are:

  • United Arab Emirates £766 ($1,064)
  • China £662 ($920)
  • Singapore £575 ($799)
  • Brazil £565 ($785)
  • Canada £554 ($769)
  • Australia £543 ($754)
  • Israel £522 ($725)

Conversely, Brits are some of the lowest spenders, averaging an accommodation spend of just £438 ($609) for a 5.8 day stay.

Americans are also far from being the visitors who spend the most time in London, typically racking up 5.5 days per trip, putting them in ninth place – even the Brits stay longer. The tourists who’s stay is of the longest duration come from Hong Kong. Although again only making up 1% of the city’s tourists, when Hong Kongers stay in London they average an 8.1-day break, spending £744 (US $1,034) in the process.

The Guest Ready research also revealed which parts of the city attracted the most visitors from each country. The Kensington area of SW5, for example, received 34% of its visitors from the US, while Brits favour the cheaper area of N7 Holloway – near enough to Camden Market to be appealing, without the prohibitive costs of locations closer to town.

GuestReady co-founder and CEO, Alexander Limpert, comments: ‘Marketing is everything when you’re running any small business, but it can be difficult for small, independent holiday letters to ascertain exactly who they’re marketing to, and where they’re most likely to succeed. This data shows that if you have an apartment to let in Westminster, for example, your most likely guest is going to come from America – 19% of all W2 visitors come from the US, followed by 16% of Brits and 9% French. Knowing this can help you style your property – and your advertising – to appeal to that demographic.

‘It might not seem that important, but it can make a big difference to your annual letting return.’

About the author

Amy