22 April 2009

Queen honours inbound tour operators

Two inbound tour operators have been honoured by the Queen in her annual Awards for Enterprise.

CHR Travel and China Holidays, both members of the trade association UKinbound, were honoured for their outstanding achievements in international trade.

It is the first time in at least four years that a tour operator has been granted the Queens Award in this category.

UKinbound chief executive Mary Rance said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœTourism is big business for UK plc. In 2008 around 32 million overseas visitors spent Ã&#pound;16.4 billion in the UK. These awards acknowledge the contribution to export earnings made by the inbound tourism sector as well as the fantastic work done by China Holidays and CHR Travel.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœUKinbound hopes that Government will now recognise tourismÃ¢â¬â¢s contribution to the economy and invest accordingly in this important industry.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœGovernment investment in overseas marketing brings tangible returns to UK plc in terms of tourist spend and the removal of barriers to growth such as Air Passenger Duty and complex visa processes would further aid inbound trade from the emerging markets.Ã¢â¬~

China Holidays brings in over 30 groups of Chinese business delegates to the UK each month, helping to arrange meetings with Government departments and other potential British trading partners.

CHR Travel specialises in hosting leisure groups from Asia, US, Australia and New Zealand, and each year brings 15,000 tourists to the UK.

By Bev Fearis