Glowing sales at The Ritz thanks to China’s Golden Week holiday

Checking in: A wave of Chinese tourists visited The Ritz in October

Joanna Hodgson20 October 2017

Luxury hotel The Ritz has emerged as one of the winners from a £30 million spending spree by tourists in town this month to celebrate China’s Golden Week holiday.

Visitors from the Far East were enticed by the weak pound, and flocked to London between October 1 and 8. That week celebrated the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Ciaran Fahy, chief executive of The Ritz, told the Standard that revenues at the Piccadilly hotel surged in the period, up 4.6% from golden week in 2016.

He added that the business ensured guests were welcomed by Mandarin speakers, and offered Chinese teas and a Chinese-language newspaper in their rooms.

Fahy’s comments came as figures from payments processor Worldpay showed visitors from China spent £29 million in the UK on their cards in the week, largely on eating out and buying luxury goods.

Of that, £11 million was spent in London.

Worldpay’s James Frost said: “Sterling’s current weakness against other global currencies is fuelling a boom in foreign card spending at the UK’s premiere shopping destinations.”