Wendy Wu Tours launches Chinese exchange programme
Wendy Wu Tours has launched a Chinese student exchange programme as visitor numbers from China to the UK rise 35% this year.
The China specialist is offering 22 UK pupils the chance to join an educational tour in China, leaving in summer 2016.
Each UK student will be assigned to a group of Chinese students of the same age and tour China with them, exploring the culture, history and language.
It is part of an intiative to encourage more Mandarin speakers and an improved understanding of the Chinese culture.
VisitBritain reports that the number of visits from China from April-June this year was up 35% (to 50,000) on the same period in 2014.
The first six months of 2015 was up 28% compared to the same period last year.
Overall, international visits to Britain from China have more than doubled over the last five years from 89,000 in 2009 to 185,000 in 2014, with the country becoming one of the UK’s fastest-growing tourism markets.
VisitBritain Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said: "China is the world’s largest outbound market and a huge tourism opportunity for Britain. Chinese visitors have very positive perceptions of Britain, they already stay longer here than in our European competitor destinations and are high spenders."
The tourism body has launched a visa refund scheme that refunds the cost of the visa to Chinese visitors who spend at least eight days in the UK, four of which have to be out of London.
The application process for the Wendy Wu initiative, aimed at students learning Mandarin at GCSE level, will open on January 4 and close on February 29.
All travel costs will be covered apart from air fares, spending money and visa costs.
The 22 students will pilot the project which Wendy Wu Tours hopes to expand significantly in 2017.
Diane
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