Leisure & tourism

The UK tourism industry fears an annual shortfall in earnings of well over £400 million, as a result of a new visa restriction from the Home Office.

The Government’s announcement that 11 countries – Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela – will all have their visa waiver status reviewed has provoked anger from tourism operators. Moreover, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa are alone said to account for at least £400 million in inbound tourism earnings in the UK.

The new visa requirements will require visitors from those nations to have their fingerprints taken for a biometric visa and will increase the tax on them to £105 per person, or £420 for a family of four.

The industry is understandably concerned about this alone, but also fears that outgoing tourism may be affected if this ruling sparks tit-for-tat restrictions being placed on UK visitors.

‘Any decision requiring the citizens of Commonwealth countries such as South Africa and Malaysia to have their fingerprints taken so that they can visit Britain will be very poorly received in those countries,’ says Bob Cotton, director of the Tourism Alliance. ‘And it will certainly not help the UK’s battered perception in Brazil.’