Airline reports boom in first-class travel to UK from two countries
It comes alongside a 10 per cent rise in business class bookings from Australia.
The airline also anticipates a surge in Chinese visitors to regional UK airports like Glasgow and Newcastle, with projected increases of 18 per cent and 45 per cent respectively in the second half of 2025.
Emirates says this growth in affluent international visitors is driving economic growth within the UK.
The UK government aims to attract 50 million international visitors annually by 2030.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Finextra
7 minutes ago
- Finextra
SmartSearch adds LSEG's World-Check One to screening data sources
SmartSearch, the UK's leading provider of digital compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions, today announces the integration of LSEG's (London Stock Exchange Group) World-Check One solution into its watchlist screening offering. 0 The addition of LSEG as a data provider bolsters SmartSearch's data coverage, joining Dow Jones Watchlist to deliver comprehensive Watchlist screening for SmartSearch customers. Offering triple-bureau reliability, SmartSearch uses global data from Equifax, Experian and Transunion, combined with biometric and AI-driven technology to verify individuals and businesses instantly, determining if they are present on sanctions lists. The platform also then performs real-time screening for anyone who may not be illegal to do business with but who carries greater risk, such as Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), Special Interest Persons (SIPs) and Relative or Close Associates (RCAs). This simplifies customer onboarding and ongoing monitoring of their status, as well as ensures compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and sanctions enforcement regulations. Making these checks as thorough and their results as well-informed as possible requires extensive data coverage and cutting-edge functionality, matching the sophisticated, ever-evolving methods used by financial criminals to carry out and conceal their illicit activities. The integration of LSEG's World-Check One solution will enhance existing SmartSearch watchlist screening and functionality by introducing comprehensive adverse media monitoring, advanced fuzzy matching for name variations, real-time monitoring capabilities, and access to data from over 100,000 reputable sources across 66 SIP categories. 'Businesses in regulated sectors face potentially unlimited fines and even jail time for non-compliance with AML regulation, as well as unwittingly becoming a cog in the financial crime machine if a criminal slips through the net - implicating the business in facilitating drug smuggling, human trafficking and even terrorism,' said Fraser Mitchell, Chief Product Officer at SmartSearch. 'We are dedicated to helping our clients avoid this fate, which is why we've added LSEG's World-Check One Solution to our watchlist screening offering. With market-leading data coverage, our clients can quickly and confidently verify prospective customers' identities when onboarding and monitor their status throughout the relationship, enabling them to grow their business and win customers through trusted identities.' 'Both LSEG and SmartSearch share a vision to ensure convenient compliance and frictionless customer journeys.' said Teodora Christova, Global Director of Partnerships at LSEG. 'Our World-Check One Solution combines global intelligence and human expertise with the latest technology. The integration with SmartSearch will help its customers uncover hidden risks and protect the people behind the statistics.'
Finextra
7 minutes ago
- Finextra
FCA's revamped returns put pressure on bureaux and the credit providers they serve.: By Cliff Bunting
In May 2025, the FCA introduced PS25/3, a new regulatory return for firms with permissions for credit broking, debt counselling, and credit information services. It replaces the returns process introduced in 2014, which the regulator had concluded was no longer delivering the level of clarity needed to monitor risk in the market. The updated return requires firms to report activity across five categories: permissions, business model, marketing, revenue, and staffing. This gives the FCA more direct visibility into how brokers and bureaux are operating and whether their actions align with the outcomes they are expected to support. While PS25/3 does not apply to credit providers, it is already influencing the way bureaux behave, including how they configure, price, and explain their services. That makes this a sensible moment for lenders to reassess whether their bureau data contracts still reflect what the business needs and how it operates. Why this affects data buyers The FCA has made clear that it wants a more consistent understanding of how regulated firms operate. For brokers and bureaux, that means connecting internal decisions across multiple areas of the business. For those that supply credit data services, it means explaining how each product, process, and dataset fits into the wider operation. This increased scrutiny has implications for their clients. Many credit providers are still using bureau contracts that haven't changed in years. Some terms were agreed around older product sets or inherited usage patterns. In other cases, volumes or decisioning logic have evolved without a formal review of the underlying data or licensing model. This is where issues tend to surface: FCA return section What's reported Where problems often occur Permissions Regulated activities Datasets don't match product permissions or customer types Business model Products and services offered Affordability models or coverage haven't been reviewed Marketing Targeting methods Risk data is used in early-stage activity without an audit Revenue Credit vs. non-credit income No clear link between data usage and income classification Staff Incentives and oversight Teams rely on data not covered by the current contract or policy These are operational gaps, not regulatory breaches. But as bureaux are required to document and explain their activity, the services they provide, and the clients using them, will come under greater internal and commercial review. Is your bureau setup still appropriate? For many credit providers, bureau data contracts remain largely unchanged since they were first negotiated. Product configurations and licence terms may have rolled forward year after year. In some cases, the rationale for specific data decisions is no longer clear internally. For firms that have expanded their product lines or added new use cases, these arrangements may no longer reflect actual requirements. This raises practical questions: Does our current bureau agreement match our products, permissions and customer base? Have we added use cases that were never reviewed with our data supplier? Are we still paying for services that no longer support risk, compliance, or commercial activity? Can we explain how the current setup came to be and who approved it? PS25/3 has made these questions more relevant, even for firms outside the scope of the return. As bureaux respond to regulatory expectations, the structure and pricing of their services will become more deliberate. Their clients should expect, and prepare for, the same. How firms are reassessing value through benchmarking Many credit providers are now using benchmarking as a way to review their bureau arrangements. This involves comparing contract pricing, product mix, and usage against others with similar requirements, helping teams identify whether existing terms still make commercial sense. In practice, this often supports clearer internal conversations between credit risk, procurement and compliance, especially where data usage spans multiple functions. Firms typically use benchmarking to: Compare bureau costs against peer usage Identify underused or outdated services Review whether pricing reflects actual volume and footprint Establish a clearer rationale for contract terms Support mid-term negotiations based on observed market practice This doesn't require a supplier change or formal audit. It's simply a method for understanding whether current data services match today's needs and whether the right commercial structure still supports internal decisions. Conclusion PS25/3 requires brokers and bureaux to take a more structured view of their activity. That will influence how they configure and deliver their services, including to credit providers who rely on their data. For those buying from bureaux, this is a good time to revisit the terms in place and the rationale behind them. If supplier behaviour is changing, there's value in being prepared, commercially and operationally, before it becomes a requirement to do so.
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Engineers carve mountain in half to make way for world's tallest bridge
Engineers in China have sliced a mountain in half as they build the world's highest bridge. Aerial footage shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday (1 August), depicts the sprawling highway which runs through Guizhou's mountainous terrain and leads to the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, which is due to open at the end of the year. Mountains on either side of the highway appear to have been shaved down to make way for the construction of the bridge, which towers 2,050ft above the canyon's floor. Motorists in China will soon be able to avoid an hour-long winding commute and instead cross the bridge in just one minute.
