Visa Price Rise Hitting UK Tourism Hard, Say Tour Operators
A dramatic rise in the charges made for visas is deterring people from visiting the United Kingdom, according to the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA).
In July this year, the cost of the typical tourist visa, allowing multiple entries to the UK, rose nearly 40 percent from £36 to £50 (approximately $63 to $87). For students, the increase was more than double, from £36 to £85 ($63 to $148). In the months that followed, the UK suffered an 18 percent decline in visa applications.
The rise in visa fees means that a family of four considering a touring holiday in Europe is now looking at a bill of £200 (US$348) just to enter the UK –a visit which may only last two or three days.
Most of the other European Union countries operate a common visa policy allowing entry across any EU border, then free movement across national borders on the European mainland, under an agreement known as the Schengen Treaty.
Inbound tour operators specializing in the budget markets of China, India and Russia have all complained to ETOA about the price of UK visas and cite the high price as a major obstacle to selling travel to the UK.
“What causes particular concern is that visa costs impact the most price sensitive origin countries,” said Tom Jenkins, executive director of ETOA.
“These are also evolving markets. In the short term, a drop in demand of 15 percent from China or India perhaps matters only to specialist operators. But, the customers we are driving away are the vanguard of future volume. Each visitor tells twenty people of their experience. Thus for every thousand that we deter now, twenty thousand potential visitors are lost,” said Jenkins.
However, the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, dispute ETOA´s analysis. The government departments say the London bombings in July were the main factor in putting people off visiting Britain. They say there is no evidence that any fee increase has been a dominant factor in any reduction in visa demand.
