04 March 2009

New UK visa regulations threaten tourism

A shake-up of visa regulations, starting this month, will make visiting the UK more expensive and inconvenient for some overseas tourists.

The measures will see visitors from South Africa, Bolivia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Venezuela having to pay for visas for the first time.

Until now, these countries were granted visa-free travel to the UK.

The changes come after an extensive review by the UKÃ¢â¬â¢s Borders and Immigration Agency.

They are part of the biggest shake-up of immigration and border security measures seen in the UK in over 45 years.

New measures also include fingerprinting all visa applicants and the operation of electronic identity checks at ports and airports in the UK.

Tom Jenkins, executive director for the European Tour Operators Association, said the move will make London even less attractive to overseas visitors.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe thing that concerns me is that increasingly the UK is seen as an additional and avoidable destination in Europe.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœAs recently as 10 years ago, London was the gateway for people coming in from long-haul origin markets who wanted to see Europe. Nearly everybody arrived in London and left from London

Ã¢â¬ÅâœNow, we are seeing most of the long-haul tour operators use a variety of gateway cities throughout the continent. London is seen as an add-on.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe creation of an additional visa requirements makes London even more isolated.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe industry is very concerned that the visas exist. The price of the visa is a small matter when compared with the the inconvenience and humiliation involved in applying for a visa.Ã¢â¬~

VisitBritain said it would be keeping a close eye on the effect of the visa requirement to spot any impact on visitor numbers, particularly from South Africa which is a key market.

Around 300,000 South Africans visit the UK each year.

By Bev Fearis

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Your Comments (5)

Greed Greed Greed

I spent a week in Cuba last fall, checking out 23 hotels. Do I think Cuba is better for all the resorts? Not on your life. One hotel on one of the cays had destroyed wetland to install a bridge to the beach. But the joke, if you call it that, was on the company that put up the resort. The wetland was filled with mosquitos and there was no escaping them as you walked to the beach. If President Obama succeeds in opening up Cuba after all these years to Americans seeking to return there, the havoc will be vast. All this for a buck. Sad.

By Peter Cansick, Monday, March 9, 2009
And what about the independents?

I don't doubt that this will be a good move for those clients who have booked through a Tui group retail outlet. However, there are still a large number of independent agents selling Thomson and First Choice product. What are they supposed to do when THEIR clients return with a complaint; send them to the local Thomson / First Choice shop? I don't think so. Is this yet another way for TUI to try and get one over on the independents, but in a more subtle way than we have seen before?

By Chris George, Thursday, March 5, 2009
US Citizens should be fingerprinted too

I fail to understand why the UK does not fingerprint and photograph US Citizens entering the UK as they do British Citizens and all other nations ! The US always seems to get away with everything !

By Chris George, Wednesday, March 4, 2009
could not agree more

As a person who has travelled various times to the UK for busines purposes, I could not agree more... I tend to avoid having to travel to the UK nowadays, as, and the article pointed it out very well... the humiliation of the application procedure is too much... The very premise that you are guilty until you prove yoruself innocent to a bunch of people who are there not to believe you in the first place, is horrible... Coming from a black country such as Nepal has meant that I face this every time... I even had to do two biometric fingerprint scans within six months... cannot understand how many people in this world have the capability to change fingerprints in six months... its a bit bizzare... London is going down for sure as a tourist destination.. no doubts about that! you do not feel welcome anymore!

By Raj Gyawali, Wednesday, March 4, 2009
could not agree more

As a person who has travelled various times to the UK for busines purposes, I could not agree more... I tend to avoid having to travel to the UK nowadays, as, and the article pointed it out very well... the humiliation of the application procedure is too much... The very premise that you are guilty until you prove yoruself innocent to a bunch of people who are there not to believe you in the first place, is horrible... Coming from a black country such as Nepal has meant that I face this every time... I even had to do two biometric fingerprint scans within six months... cannot understand how many people in this world have the capability to change fingerprints in six months... its a bit bizzare... London is going down for sure as a tourist destination.. no doubts about that! you do not feel welcome anymore!

By Raj Gyawali, Wednesday, March 4, 2009