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UKinbound has slammed the Home Office’s announcement of a proposed 2% fee increase for visit visas to the UK.
Deirdre Wells, the trade association’s CEO, said that she was “extremely disappointed” that visit visas would be increased by 2% in April 2016, claiming that it will have a “long-term detrimental effect” on inbound tourism to the UK.
She said: “Each inbound visitor contributes an additional £630 in export earnings and contributes £216 to the Exchequer – they more than pay their way already.
“Even though it is a small fee increase, we at UKinbound believe that this sends the wrong message to potential overseas visitors about how much the UK values their business.
“Last year, we were encouraged to see the government improving the accessibility of the UK for tourists with the reduction in the cost of a two year visa for Chinese visitors to £85 – it would be unfortunate if that message of support was to be undermined by a fee increase in 2016.”
She added that while UKinbound recognises the need to balance the UK economy, she said the association believes the most effective way to do this is to encourage more inbound visitors.
