UK tourism calls for re-think on visa hike

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 &#pound;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 &#pound;36 to &#pound;50 and student visas from &#pound;36 to &#pound;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 &#pound;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 &#pound;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 &#pound;200 and could be as high as &#pound;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

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

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Richard English

Unfortunately this is typical of the attitude of visa departments of most countries who believe that they can charge what they like for their services since they have a monopoly. Not only are their charges often exhorbitant but also the service they provide is usually abysmal - insistance on payment in cash, personal attendance, separate visits to lodge and collect, premium telephone lines to get information - the list of customer unfriendliness is a long one. And, of course, the visa offices' belief is quite false. They might have a monopoly insofar as their own country is concerned but their country does not have a monopoly as a destination - not for leisure travellers anyway. As Tourism Alliance, UKinbound and VisitBritain all suggest, this will be a disincentive to visitors who can vote with their chequebooks and take their holidays elsewhere. London is now the world's most popular tourist destination and it is quite reprehensible that this quango is allowed to hold the industry to ransom in this manner. Visa services should be paid for out of central funding since it is the UK Government that is the prime recipient of the revenues from tourist spend. Sadly I doubt very much that either the visa office or the Government will take the slightest notice since the tourist industry, in spite of its being the world's largest, speaks with such a divided voice that its views are never heard.

By Richard English, Tuesday, June 21, 2005