IAG chief Willie Walsh has renewed calls for Chancellor George Osborne to cut aviation taxes and reform visas for Chinese visitors in a bid to boost tourism.
The chief executive of British Airways’ parent company made the pleas as part of his submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review, in which the Treasury has asked departments to find £20bn in savings over the next four years.
He is calling for APD to be abolished altogether, arguing that this would boost the overall economy.
He also wants the visa system for Chinese visitors to replicate the United States, which announced last year that it would grant 10-year visas to help boost lucrative tourism from the East.
A 10-year visa to the US costs around £100. The UK equivalent for Chinese nationals is about £800, reports the Telegraph.
According to Office for National Statistics data released in May, visits from China to the UK fell by 7.6% to 185,000 last year and spending by Chinese nationals in Britain dropped by 1%.
