TOURISM UK/China visa policy scrutinised


Leisure and hospitality industries in the UK could continue to lose ground on France and Germany in attracting high-spending Chinese tourists unless the UK government is to sim- plify its visa application process. Te findings came from a UK China Visa


Alliance (UCKVA) study, which found that the UK could gain an additional £1.2bn in Chinese spend per year if restrictions were loosened, prompting the government to outline reforms to attract more Chinese. Te report says that 90 per cent of Chinese


tour groups that travel to Europe each year end up missing out on the UK, while 80 per cent of trips to Europe from China focus on the des- tinations of Germany and France, despite the UK overtaking France as the most searched for location on Chinese social media. Of these social media searches, it has also


been discovered that Chinese tourists are becoming increasingly interested in Britain, with London being the choice destination for around 30 per cent of Chinese travellers. Te report believes that it is the current visa


application process that is putting Chinese tour operators and tourists off visiting, with 71 per cent of tour operators surveyed claiming that they would add the UK to their itineraries if the visa process was simpler. Such is the spending power of Chinese tour- ists already visiting the UK; statistics show that


Reporting Te UK could be missing out on Chinese spending power


these visitors currently spend a staggering £741 per transaction in UK shops. Meanwhile, Chinese visitors are currently thought to spend 64 per cent more across retail and leisure in London than any other nationality. “We welcome the improvements to date, but


urge the government to consider our recom- mendations to ensure that the UK performs as well as our European neighbours, said Andrew Murphy, chair of the UK China Visa Alliance and retail director of John Lewis. “It is frustrating that only around 15 per cent of the 1.6 million Chinese visitors to Europe each year have a UK visitor visa. Tis means that 1.3 million Chinese people are travelling half way around the world to Europe but do not make the short trip across the Channel. Details: http://lei.sr?a=a8k8Z


How to tempt tourists beyond London?


Despite 2013 being a record year for UK inbound tourism, breaking new ground in terms of nominal spend and visitor numbers, the sector has a slight concern: London alone accounted for more than half of it. Tourism body VisitBritain is on a mission to


encourage overseas visitors to venture beyond London and explore what else the UK has to offer. Its new report Te beyond London chal- lenge looks at strategies to entice visitors from both mature and emerging markets to all parts of the UK. Previous findings have demonstrated that


Britain’s biggest lures vary vastly by markets and the new report spotlights the need to increase visitor awareness of what the rest of Britain has to offer, “beyond vague constructs of castles and countrysides.” This has been augmented by a series of


marketing campaigns this year, including the sounds of Great Britain adverts and a tie-up with Welsh songstress Katherine Jenkins. Te report also finds that modern UK intel-


lectual properties (such as Harry Potter and James Bond) prove particularly popular in


© CYBERTREK 2014 Campaigns are harnessing popular cultural treasures


some emerging markets such as Brazil, noting these could be harnessed regionally, alongside the UK’s musical heritage to good effect. “We need to encourage people to come


back time aſter time, which in turn will mean our visitors venture out across Britain,” said VisitBritain director of strategy Patricia Yates. Details: http://lei.sr?a=h2f5n


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