Overview

• More than 400 retailers and hospitality brands, including John Lewis and Fortnum & Mason, backed an AIR submission to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport ahead of the autumn visitor strategy
• The proposal calls for a fully digital VAT-refund system aimed at lifting spending in shops, hotels, restaurants and cultural venues nationwide
• Analysis by the British Retail Consortium underpins a forecast of 73,000 new jobs, based on one position per £50,000 of incremental tourist spending
• Reinstating a 20% rebate for 450 million EU residents would give the UK a unique post-Brexit advantage over France and Spain
• The government has not indicated it will reverse the 2021 repeal while finalizing its Visitor Economy Growth Plan