The UK China Visa alliance (UKCVA) has appointed Andrew Murphy, the retail director of John Lewis, as its chairman.
The alliance represents around 950 British businesses campaigning for a streamlined tourist Chinese visa process which would increase the amount of inbound Chinese into the UK.
Last year, data released confirmed that the Chinese were the highest spending tourists in the UK.
Andrew Murphy, chairman of the UKCVA and retail director at John Lewis, says; “The Chinese consumer is by far the largest spender among overseas visitors to the UK, and that spend is a vital area of growth if we are to remain globally competitive as a visitor destination. Whilst incremental steps have been taken, the UKCVA believes more must be done by the Government to ensure that the UK attracts its fair share of Chinese visitors, levelling the playing field with other European countries. I look forward to working with the Alliance to ensure the Government makes these vital changes.”
The UKCVA formed in July 2012 and has been lobbying the government to allow Chinese citizens to apply for both UK and Schengen visas at a ‘single drop off point’ thus reducing the inconvenience for tour operators and drawing more Chinese tourists into the country.
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