UK tourism calls for re-think on visa hike

Friday, 21 Jun, 2005 0

UK tourism bodies have called for a review into a decision to drastically hike the cost of visas after research revealed it could cost tourism revenue £100 million per year.

Tourism Alliance, UKinbound and VisitBritain all condemned the increase which will further tag Britain as an expensive country to visit.

The controversy follows a decision by UKvisas to raise the cost of a multiple entry visa – the standard tourist visa – from £36 to £50 and student visas from £36 to £85. Both fees come into force on July 1.

Tourism Alliance chairman Brigid Simmonds said the increase will cost the industry millions as visitors turn their back on Britain.

“Our preliminary analysis indicates that tourism revenue from just 18 of the 108 countries affected by the increase will decrease by over £20 million per annum as a result,” she said. “When the total cost of visas is taken into consideration, the impact will be well over £100 million.”

UKinbound chief executive Stephen Dowd called on its members, which handle 60% of all inbound visitors, to write to MP’s spelling out the financial damage facing the industry.

“The cost of visas for a family of four will now be at least £200 and could be as high as £260 if applications are outsourced,” he said. “This is over twice the average cost of visas to European countries and will result in the UK being taken out of tour operators’ itineraries.”

In a letter to the Financial Times, VisitBritain chairman Lord Marshall stressed that while the hospitality industry raises its productivity, airlines open routes from growth markets and the national tourist board seek to encourage more visitors, now is not the time to “place obstacles in the way of our international competitiveness.”

The joint approach follows earlier condemnation from the European Tour Operators Association which predicted overseas operators will shun Britain in favour of cheaper destinations.

UKvisas have said the hike is necessary to meet the cost of the worldwide visa operation “which receives no subsidy from the UK tax payer.”

Report by Steve Jones