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New UK Visa regulations threaten tourism

A shake-up of Visa regulations, starting this month, will make visiting the UK more expensive and inconvenient for some overseas tourists. According to a TravelMole report by Bev Fearis, the measures will see visitors from South Africa, Bolivia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Venezuela having to pay for Visas for the first time. Until now, these countries were granted Visa-free travel to the UK. The changes come after an extensive review by the UK’s Borders and Immigration Agency. They are part of the biggest shake-up of immigration and border security measures seen in the UK in over 45 years.

New measures also include fingerprinting all Visa applicants and the operation of electronic identity checks at ports and airports in the UK. Tom Jenkins, Executive Director, European Tour Operators Association, said the move will make London even less attractive to overseas visitors. “The thing that concerns me is that increasingly the UK is seen as an additional and avoidable destination in Europe. As recently as ten years ago, London was the gateway for people coming in from long-haul origin markets who wanted to see Europe. Nearly everybody arrived in London and left from London,” said Jenkins.

Further adding he said, “Now, we are seeing most of the long-haul tour operators use a variety of gateway cities throughout the continent. London is seen as an add-on. The creation of additional Visa requirements makes London even more isolated. The industry is very concerned that the Visas exist. The price of the Visa is a small matter when compared with the inconvenience and humiliation involved in applying for a Visa.” VisitBritain said it would be keeping a close eye on the effect of the Visa requirement to spot any impact on visitor numbers, particularly from South Africa which is a key market. Around 300,000 South Africans visit the UK each year.

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