Inbound tourism leaders have slammed government plans to hike visa fees from October to fund public sector pay settlements, denouncing the increases as “catastrophic” and demanding a reversal.
The UKinbound association, industry coalition the Tourism Alliance and the association of English language teaching centres, English UK, have issued an open letting calling on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to reverse the government’s decision to “significantly increase” visa fees.
They warn it will have an “incredibly detrimental” impact on inbound visitor numbers by making the UK “uncompetitive compared with many other countries, including our nearest competitors across the EU”.
The government announced plans on July 13 to raise visitor and business visa fees by 15% and other visas by 20% to fund public sector pay increases.
The increase take effect from October and follow a 5% increase in visa fees last year.
The changes mean the cost of a five-year, multiple-entry visa will rise from £670 to £770.
By comparison, the US charges Chinese citizens £135 ($155) for a 10-year visa. Under the new rules, a 10-year UK visa for a Chinese visitor will cost £962.55.
The open letter condemns the increases and highlights the “upmost concern” of industry leaders, warning “this exorbitant cost will put off tourists visiting the UK”.
UKinbound chief executive Joss Croft said: “This significant increase to visa fees is catastrophic and could not have come at a worse time for our industry.
“The UK is still struggling to recover to 2019 levels while our competitors have grown beyond recovery.
“The next six months are critical to our industry’s recovery, yet this announcement places us at a further economic disadvantage.”
The open letter notes the sector already faces significant challenges, with the UK ranked last out of 147 countries in the World Economic Forum’s report on global price competitiveness for travel and tourism in 2019.
The increased visa fees follow the government’s removal of VAT-free shopping for international visitors and its refusal to introduce duty-free shopping for arrivals.
It comes in addition to high rates of Air Passenger Duty on long-haul flights and VAT on hospitality.
Croft argued: “This is an industry worth £28.4 billion in exports in 2019 – more than car manufacturing exports – and has the potential to grow at least twice as fast as the UK economy.
“Why the government thinks that this measure is advisable is beyond belief.
“The Government must reverse this fee increase and focus on implementing visitor-friendly policies to welcome tourists to our country.”
Jodie Gray, chief executive of English UK, the association of English language teaching centres, said: “While we support the pay rises for doctors, teachers and nurses, this is not the right way to fund them.
“UK English Language Teaching and the wider tourism sector are export industries which bring much-needed revenue.
“If visa and health fees become uncompetitively high, we risk losing that revenue and the jobs these sectors support.
“This plan is incredibly short-sighted and must be reversed before it takes effect in October.”