CLOSER links to China have been forged ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the London Olympics in 2012 to promote travel between China and the UK.
Following a visit to China last week by London mayor Ken Livingstone and members of the London 2012 bid team a tourism agreement has been signed with the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission.
This will be reviewed on a yearly basis with the aim of encouraging co-promotion of the two cities with a programme of familiarisation trips.
Visit London chief executive James Bidwell said there are opportunities for UK travel firms as the Chinese travel market opens up. “By 2020, China will be the biggest source of outbound travellers in the world and we look forward to welcoming as many as possible of them to London.
“We are engaging with the city authorities as much as the travel trade and commercial operators throughout the country.”