London Aug. 26 (People's Daily Online)—— Shopping is one of the most popular activities for international visitors to the UK, with 64% of visits in 2014 involving shopping; and an estimated £5.5bn being spent on retail therapy during the year, according to new research from VisitBritain.

Women are most likely to go shopping during their visit; three quarters of women (77%) shopped compared to just over half of men (54%).Half of visits surveyed included a trip to a High Street store, with a peak amongst women at 61%, again markedly higher than the 42% of men who chose these types of stores.

Young visitors are the most likely to go shopping during their visit, with 85% under 16 and 77% of 16-24 year olds visiting High Street stores, Gift and Boutique shops.

Visiting a Luxury store is reflected in high-spend across Asian markets – over 40% of visitors from Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore chose to shop in these stores, with 37% of Chinese visitors heading for Luxury stores.

Jace Tyrrell, Deputy CEO, New West End Company said: “International visitors are increasingly important for London’s West End. The Middle East and China remain the top spending nations in the West End, with the latter spending over £1,400 on average, but the appeal of shopping for designer fashion and accessories in London has also rippled out across South East Asia and we saw huge growth from Thailand and Malaysia last year.”