Lanzhou still unaffected by UK visa relaxation

Outbound tourism in Lanzhou, Gansu province is not yet affected by the United Kingdom’s new visa policy, reported Western Business, a Gansu newspaper.

The United Kingdom revised its visa policy recently, saying that Chinese tourists can have two-year multiple entry visas from January 1, 2016, at the same price as present—￡85, extending valid visa time from six months to two years.

Many countries have relaxed their visa policies towards China, such as Canada, the United States and South Korea.

In the short term, the new policy will not influence Lanzhou tourists, because "the upcoming winter in the UK is not peak travel season" said a staff member at Gansu Kanghui International Tourism Agency, who added that Lanzhou tourists prefer Europe to the UK.

However, the situation may change. Britain's department stores from the middle to late December may tempt more shoppers due to their promotional activities, said an employee of Gansu Silk Road Travel Agency, which is going to plan more routes to the UK.

Unlike tourism, the new policy will benefit students abroad. "Multi-entry visa will make it easier for parents to visit their children in the UK," said Li Lei, who is in charge of studying in the UK at Lanzhou New Oriental Vision Overseas Consulting.

"The relaxed visa policy will attract more Chinese students to apply for universities in the UK where the education system is more complete," said a teacher of JJL Overseas Education, a consulting company.

Edited by Andrew Ancheta