The government has pledged £8 million in a bid to treble the number of Chinese tourists to the UK over the coming three years. The initiative was announced by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and is designed to boost the tourist industry following the success of London 2012.
With the Chinese economy booming consumers from the country are set to be increasingly targeted by providers of goods and services – and tourists are no exception. Currently the UK lags behind France and Germany in terms of Chinese visitors and Mr Hunt wants to change that.
Speaking about the campaign he said; “Nobody should underestimate the opportunity China and its cities represent. By 2030, China should have around 1.4 billion middle class consumers – creating a potential market four times bigger than America.”
It is hoped the investment will attract 500,000 high spending Chinese tourists a year which it is estimated will lead to an additional £0.5 billion being spent in UK hotels, shops, and other commercial properties. It is thought this could create 14,000 new jobs.
The campaign will focus on increasing marketing, not only in in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, but in others where growth is expected in the coming years. It will also look at ways in which the visa system might be simplified and seek to increase the number of flights to and from China.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the travel organisation Abta, believes the UK must build on what has been a fantastic summer for the UK, with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics. However he warned there are important issues that require attention.
He said; “For the government’s vision for tourism to be achieved, the obvious barriers to tourism, such as high levels of aviation taxes, visa costs and bureaucracy, inadequate infrastructure and poor services at the borders, must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
Why just Chinese tourists though? What about other nationalities like Japanese, American etc?
I think the UK won’t shun any tourists, but what the article was getting across is that they have a booming economy, so will hopefully come over here and spend 🙂