WTTC president, David Scowsill, says in a statement he is happy to hear the UK prime minister David Cameron is vowing to relax visa rules to allow more Indians to travel to Britain for work and study. “Anything which allows people to travel more easily can only be a good thing, socially and economically, for the UK.”
We say this is too just a small step for a man who has been anti open travel borders for too long. The UK’s restrictive visa policies are making the UK not only uncompetitive but a nightmare for South African to travel to. The UK Government needs to loosen visa bureaucracy and the WTTC says it’s time for Britain to become part of the Schengen system that offers visitors the chance to visit 26 countries in Europe on a single visa.
Travel & Tourism generates 2.3 million jobs and contributes over $100 billion to the UK economy every year. Research by WTTC shows visa facilitation has historically increased international tourist arrivals of affected markets by 5-25%, following the implementation of policy changes.
