Press Release

Visa Fees Increases will Cost the UK millions in Lost Revenue

The Tourism industry has united behind calls for a review of visas fees after UKvisas increased the cost of multiple entry visas by almost 40% and student visas by 136% without warning or consultation.

Stephen Dowd, Chief Executive of the UK Inbound UKinbound, stated that “the cost of visas for a family of four will now be at least £200 and could be as high as £260 if applications are outsourced. This is over twice the average cost of visas to European countries and will result in the UK being taken out of tour operators’ itineraries”

Collectively members of UKinbound handle over 60% of all inbound visitors to the UK and the association has embarked on a campaign encouraging its members to write to their MPs highlighting the damage these fee increases will cause to the industry.

Work by the Tourism Alliance on the impact of these increases using price elasticity modelling developed by Strathclyde University shows that UKvisas ability to increase charges without consideration of the affect effect on tourism is costing the UK millions in lost revenue each year.

“Our preliminary analysis indicates that tourism revenue from just 18 of the 108 countries affected by the increase will decrease by over £20m per annum as a result. When the total cost of visas is taken into consideration, the impact will be well over £100m per annum” stated Tourism Alliance Chairman, Brigid Simmonds.

Lord Marshall, Chairman of VisitBritain emphasised this in a letter to the financial Times stating that, while our hospitality industry raises its productivity, our airlines open new routes from growth markets, and our national tourist board seeks every opportunity to build visitor numbers and spending for Britain, now is not the time to be placing obstacles in the way of our international competitiveness.

At the moment, UKvisas lacks any Public Service Agreement Targets to reflect its important role in facilitating the generation of tourism revenue from legitimate travellers. This needs to change so that UKvisas becomes accountable to the industry on which it impacts.

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For further information, please contact either:

Kurt Janson, Policy Director, Tourism Alliance; tel: 020 7395 8246 – mob: 07946428123

Janet McCready, Communications Manager, UKinbound; tel: 020 7292-0561

VisitBritain Press Office; tel:0208563 3035

Notes to Editors

·  The Tourism Alliance is the Voice of the UK Tourism Industry. It was established in 2001 with the support of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and comprises over 40 Tourism Organisations that together represent almost 200,000 businesses of all sizes throughout the UK. Further information about the Tourism Alliance can be found on www.tourismalliance.com

·  UKinbound, formerly BITOA, is a trade association founded in 1977 to represent the interests of companies deriving a substantial part of their income from the provision of tourism services for overseas visitors to the UK. Further information about UKinbound can be viewed at www.ukinbound.org

·  Tourism is the sixth largest industry in Britain. It generates £74bn p.a. for the UK economy (6.4% of GDP) and directly supports 2.2 million jobs (7.7% of the total workforce). In generating £13bn per annum in foreign exchange, it is also the UK’s third largest export earner.

·  For further details on the Tourism Alliance and its policy objectives, visit the website, www.tourismalliance.com

Website: www.tourismalliance.com

Tourism Alliance: Centre Point, 103 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1DU

Policy Director: Kurt Janson, Email:

Telephone: 020 7395 8246 Fax: 020 7395 8178 Mobile: 07964428123

President: Digby Jones

Chairman: Brigid Simmonds