www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Business / Industries

UK targets Chinese tourists

By Zhang Chunyan and Cecily Liu (China Daily) Updated: 2012-10-19 17:32

UK targets Chinese tourists

Chinese tourists look at shoes displayed in Clarks Museum at Clarks Village in Street Somerset, England. The British government is discussing whether it is possible to allow Chinese tourists to get both Schengen and UK visas with just one application to facilitate their travel to the country. Matt Cardy / Getty Images via CFP

Changes to visa system possible as visitors could prove boon to economy

High-spending Chinese tourists have become an increasingly welcome sight on Europe's streets, as the continent struggles through its deepest recession in more than half a century.

Every country wants to capitalize on this growing group of travelers, including the United Kingdom, which has arranged a tourism mission to China and is looking at changes to its visa system to make entry easier for Chinese tourists.

A proposal to allow dual processing of British and Schengen visas was presented to the UK Border Agency on Oct 8. The Schengen area includes 26 European countries that are signed up to a dual visa agreement. A single Schengen visa covers parts of Eastern Europe and most of Western Europe, including France and Germany. Britain has so far refused to join the Schengen system due to national security concerns.

Under the terms of the proposal, Chinese applicants will be able to submit just one application and set of documents to obtain both a Schengen and UK visa.

Walpole, a consortium of luxury brands, and the New West End Company, which represents top London stores, met the border agency recently to discuss the issue.

"The new visa plan is very necessary. The applications will still be processed twice, ensuring that the UK border regime remains strong, but two visas will be issued at the same time," Julia Carrick, chief executive of Walpole British Luxury, says.

Tourism and retail bosses estimate that the UK misses out on 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion; 1.4 billion euros) from wealthy Chinese visitors a year as a result of its rigid system.

"France currently attracts eight times more Chinese visitors than the UK. Harmonizing the visa system should lead to the UK performing as well as France," Carrick says.

Research from VisitBritain, the UK's national tourist body, indicates that 61 percent of Chinese people who chose not to visit Britain were put off by the country's difficult visa process.

If the plan is not introduced, "Britain will still welcome increasing numbers of Chinese visitors because of the growing numbers of Chinese travelers. But we will continue to underperform compared with other major European countries," Carrick says. "We understand that the UK Border Agency agrees with the principle of moving to a more harmonized system for visa applications. The issue will be about the practicalities of introducing such a system and the time frame for doing so."

The visa proposal comes as the UK is going through a slow and difficult healing process as it rebalances its economy. The International Monetary Fund says it now expects the UK economy to shrink by 0.4 percent this year.

According to the latest VisitBritain report, tourism accounts for about 9 percent of the country's GDP and jobs and is the third-largest foreign-exchange earner, behind chemicals and financial services.

Tourism can deliver jobs across the country for all skill levels quickly, as well as providing much-needed growth in the economy. A new job can be created for every 40,000 pounds spent by foreign visitors, according to the report.

VisitBritain revealed ambitious plans in October to increase inbound visitor numbers to 40 million per annum by 2020. This increase would represent a 3 percent rise in visitor numbers every year and would deliver an additional 8.7 billion pounds of foreign exchange earnings based on current prices. The additional visitors would also help support an extra 200,000 jobs.

"Should the Home Office wisely revise the current legislation regarding UK visas to streamline the process by which Chinese passport holders are able to travel to the UK, we would expect to see a significant uplift in revenue, both in the hospitality industry and across all retail industries," Stephen Boxall, managing director of The Ritz London, says.

"As the first hotel in the UK to install China UnionPay terminals and launch a series of bespoke amenities for our Chinese guests, at The Ritz we have long understood the importance of this market to British tourism and unreservedly endorse the proposed revision to visa procedures by the Home Office."

Previous Page 1 2 3 Next Page

Hot Topics

Editor's Picks
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 久久成年片色大黄全免费网站 | 97在线视频免费观看 | 国产欧美精品一区二区 | 国产日本在线 | 久久草网站 | 久久精品欧美日韩精品 | 美女张开腿男人桶 | 欧美888| 成人国产一区二区三区精品 | 精品老司机在线视频香蕉 | 精品国产理论在线观看不卡 | 国产成人影院在线观看 | 波多野在线播放 | 91日韩精品天海翼在线观看 | 八戒午夜精品视频在线观看 | 欧美6699在线视频免费 | 国产精品三级a三级三级午夜 | 国产91香蕉 | 天天黄色片 | 亚洲国产第一区二区香蕉日日 | 成人软件18免费网站 | 日本一本色道 | 亚洲乱人伦精品图片 | 国语自产精品视频 | 大量愉拍情侣在线视频 | 日韩精品亚洲一级在线观看 | 精品视频在线看 | 国产日韩在线看 | 伊人色综合久久天天人手人停 | 999久久| 久青草免费在线视频 | 亚洲成a人片在线观 | 日韩欧美中文字幕在线观看 | 久久久精品久久久久三级 | 欧美 亚洲 丝袜 清纯 中文 | 色爱综合网 | 一及毛片 | 爽爽日本在线视频免费 | 久草精品免费 | 99久久香蕉国产线看观香 | 日韩一级特黄毛片在线看 |