日批在线视频_内射毛片内射国产夫妻_亚洲三级小视频_在线观看亚洲大片短视频_女性向h片资源在线观看_亚洲最大网

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: 伊人久久精品 | 激情婷婷六月天 | 亚洲福利视频网 | 亚洲午夜免费 | 在线免费观看国产视频 | 性色av蜜臀av浪潮av老女人 | 黄色免费视频网站 | 四虎影院在线看 | 午夜免费观看 | av免费在线网站 | av激情网 | 中文字幕在线一区 | 国产又粗又黄又爽 | 色综合综合网 | 中文字幕永久在线 | 99这里只有精品视频 | 久久视频在线观看 | 一级特黄aa大片 | 日韩一级片视频 | 可以免费在线观看的av | 日韩精品一线二线三线 | 在线观看资源 | 国产视频分类 | www.午夜视频| 好吊妞这里有精品 | 中文字幕色哟哟 | 人人搞人人插 | 超碰天堂 | 色av影院 | 国产一区二区视频免费 | 波多野吉衣一区二区三区 | 九九热视频在线播放 | 精品1卡二卡三卡四卡老狼 亚洲网在线观看 | 黄色的视频网站 | 欧美视频精品 | 99久久久国产精品 | 全部孕妇毛片丰满孕妇孕交 | 久久在线视频 | 亚洲国产精品一区二区三区 | 国产一区二区三区视频 | 爱av在线|