The Impact of Tourism Visa on the United Kingdom - Essay Example

? LONDON SOUTHBANK UK VISA REGIME The Impact of Tourism Visa on the United Kingdom Stephanie Calderon & Sharon Davis 10/26 Introduction This present paper primarily seeks to investigate the United Kingdom’s tourism visa requirements and related polices, and the impact they have on the United Kingdom as a whole. Therefore, it would be appropriate to commence the study with a critical review of UK’s tourism sector in order to understand its contribution or impact on the economy of the country. Secondly, the essay will look into the nature and scale of the issue of UK’s tourism visa. This analysis will further look into the current legislations/ regulations, the adjoining problems with tourism visa, and the key facts and figures about the tourism visa. In addition, the study will look into the reason why the issues relating to UK’s tourism visa have risen and why there needs to be a change in the policies. This discussion will include who wins and who losses in the current state and even when there will be a change in the policies. Afterwards, the study will explore the policy options that are available going forward, and lastly the recommended way forward about UK’s tourism visa. Background review of the United Kingdom’s tourism sector According to Lickorish and Middleton (2013), the United Kingdom’s tourism sector is a major source of foreign income earner for the country and statistics show that it is the third highest foreign exchange earner for the country after the financial service industry and the chemicals industry. Moreover, the statistics indicate that the tourism sector is the sixth largest industry in the country and it nets more than GBP 115 billion annually for the country’s economy, which translates to 9% total contribution to the economy. In regards to employment, it is noted that it provides employment to more than two million people within the United Kingdom. Other statistics pertaining to the United Kingdom’s tourism sector show that the country is the seventh biggest tourist destination in the world, and figures from the year 2012 indicate that more than twenty nine million tourists visited the country within that year and they spent more than GBP 9 billion during their visit. Among the foreign tourists, the number of tourists originating from Europe was much higher when compared to the tourists coming from both the United States of America and Canada who make up only 3.5 million, while tourists from Europe total up to more than twenty one million. With reference to the writings by Lickorish and Middleton (2013), it is stated that domestic tourism is a major component of the United Kingdom’s tourism sector and it contributes the highest amount in terms of total revenue earned by the sector, the contribution by this sector stands at more than GBP 21 billion. The four top regions for domestic tourism include West Midlands, East of England, East of Midlands, and London. The peak of domestic tourism is usually during the summer periods, bank holidays, and in specific, the month of August is the busiest in terms of domestic tourism (Lickorish and Middleton, 2013). Other statistics about the tourism sector in the UK is that on average tourists spend GBP 580 per visit and the average duration of stay for each visitor is usually seven nights. Majority of the visitors come to UK for leisure and business purposes while a small number come for further their studies in the UK. Thirdly, majority of the tourists spend most on transport services, accommodation, and food and beverage services (Lickorish and Middleton, 2013). In regards to the tourists’ attraction sites, it is noted by Cook et al. (2009) that the tower of London is the most popular attraction site in the UK with visitors ranging between 2.5 and 2 million each year. Other attraction sites in the UK include amusement parks, Anglo-Saxon sites, aquariums, galleries, art museums, beaches, casinos, castles, and festivals that are usually held in the country, which attract a huge number of audiences both locally and abroad. Among the detrimental factors in the tourism sector of the UK is the Air Passenger Duty charged on visitors, which has increased by 750% over the past five years (Kennedy, 2011). Secondly, the requirement to get a UK Visa creates a hindrance for many potential tourists across the world, and thirdly, the high value added tax levied on things such as attractions, meals, and accommodation in the UK discourages numerous visitors from visiting the country (Kennedy, 2011). The nature and scale of UK’s tourism visa According to Schengen Visa Services ( 2013), the UK’s tourism visa requirements and policies are complicated to a greater extent than its key rival in the international tourism industry. For example, despite the fact that the UK is a key member of the European Union, the UK operates only in the Common Travel area alongside Ireland instead of the Schengen area where majority of the majority of the European Union member countries operate. This therefore means that visitors from other countries apart from Ireland, which also operates in the Common Travel Area have to comply with some few UK’s stringent visa requirements before gaining access into the country such as limited duration of stay within the country. Because of the exclusion from operating within the Schengen area, the UK tourism sector fails to attract additional number of tourists from the other EU member countries, who would have easily toured the country if there were giving the common access that is only shared with Ireland. However, it is important to note that the UK has exempted visitors from a few selected countries other than the EU member countries from its stringent Visa requirements but these exemptions only apply to visitors who intended to visit the country for a limited period of time i.e. six to nine months. Therefore, this explain why majority of the UK’s tourists are largely drawn from the EU member countries as they are exempted to a greater extent the stringent visa requirements. Holden (2013) lamented that this greatly limits the potential of UK tourism sector since only a few tourists will be willing to pass through the vigorous visa requirements in order to tour the country for a variety of reasons. Moreover, Ateljevic and Page (2012) added that the UK visa requirements positions the country’s tourism sector and even the economy at a disadvantageous positions since countries such as Germany and France are able to lure more tourists to their countries because of less stringent visa requirements as compared to the UK. Davies (2008) stated that the introduction of the biometric requirements for Visa application for prospective tourists from countries that are not eligible for UK visa exemptions, has further put the country at a disadvantageous position in regards to attracting more visitors from different corners of the World. This is because, since its inception in the year 2008, there has been a significant decline of tourists from countries that are not exempted from the stringent visa requirements. The applicants from these other countries are required to provide 10 digit finger scans and a digital photograph as part of the requirement for visa application. This requirement creates additional inconveniencies because of the fact that the prospective tourists are required to visit a visa application center in person or a British mission in the their country of origin, which means that they will waste more time for simply getting a tourism visa. The inclusion of Biometric data requirements can potentially limit those who have permanent scars on their fingers or even fresh scars on their face, since the records may be unaccepted at the application center. Key facts and figures about UK’s tourism visa A Short term VISA (6 months) to enter the UK as a visitor, costs ?80 in contrast to a 6 months Schengen VISA that costs ?50 and allows travellers to visit 25 countries that a members of the convention. It takes up to 12 weeks to get a decision about a Visa application When the visa requirements for Taiwanese visitors where removed, the visits from Taiwan increased by 40 % in contrast to when visas were introduced for South African visitors, visits increased by almost 30%. 3.4 million visitors of 30 million visitors to the UK requires a visa to enter the UK Visa requiring visitors average expenditure is ?866 per person compared to non-visa requiring visitors expenditure of ?580 per person. Visa-exempt entry cannot be converted to other types of visa, unless certain procedural requirements are followed and this option it is only limited to visitors from certain countries. Reason why the current issues pertaining to UK’s tourism visa have risen and why there is need for policy change In the studies conducted by Richards (2012), she attributed the introduction of stringent visa requirements for visitors entering the UK from countries that are not exempted from such requirements, to the impending global terror threats. Richards (2012) added that the UK has in the past years being a target for terrorists, and the latest major attack being the 2005 London bombings. Therefore, there has been increased calls to ensure that any person entering the UK borders has thoroughly been vetted to ensure that the prospective visitor does not pose any real threat to the security of the nation. The introduction of the biometric data requirement for visa applications is viewed as of the one key measure for safeguarding the country from entry by terror suspects or other identified international criminals. However, it is important to acknowledge the detrimental effects of the stringent visa requirements since the UK tourism sector is not able to attract more tourists from different parts of the world, which would significantly improve the economic performance of the country. Therefore, there is an urgent need for policy change to loosen some of the tourism visa requirements whilst ensuring that terrorist or international criminals are not able to enter the country. The policy change should focus mainly on the cost aspect of tourism visa requirement in order to make it cheaper for prospective tourist to gain access into the country and even have surplus cash to tour more attraction sites. Who wins and who losses Presently, the biggest winner of the stringent tourism visa requirements is the national security of the country mostly from terror attacks. Adesina and Adesina (2008) further affirmed that the stringent visa requirements have been capable of locking out many unwanted visitors in the UK and hence the decrease in terror attacks over the recent past. The biggest loser of the stringent visa requirements is the country’s tourism sector, the players within the industry, and the economy at large. This is because the current tourism visa requirements have locked out many prospective tourists from entering the country mainly because it entails a process that is costly, bureaucratic, and time wasting. This has denied the country’s tourism sector an opportunity to increase its net earnings, and the players have also failed to record an improved earning over the past years while the economy has not been able to record a significant growth arising from the tourism sector. More particular, Horner and Swarbrooke (2012) wrote that the stringent visa requirements have hindered the construction of more hotels, tourism sites, and even the employment of more people into the sector. However, with the policy change, the government will lose in the sense that it will earn less from tourism visa application but there will be an influx in the number of tourists, which will boost the financial performance of the tourism industry. Subsequently, there will be an improved economic performance, and therefore, an improved standard of living for UK citizens. Policy options going forward From the above discussion it is evident that the main policy options going forward would include; Reducing the cost of visa application Eliminating some bureaucratic procedures in the tourism visa application process, which do not aid in proper vetting of the prospective visitor Considering exempting more countries from the stringent visa requirements, which do not pose a possible threat to the national security and it likely to offer more tourists to the UK Recommended way forward Flexibility in the border regime Retention of the biometric data requirement for tourism visa application Reducing the cost of obtaining a tourism visa Giving more exemptions to countries that have few elements of terror and can be a big market for the UK tourism sector Aggressively market the UK tourism sector to regions beyond the traditional markets of EU, the United States, and Canada. References Adesina, T. and Adesina, K. (2008). A Simple Guide to Uk Immigration. Lulu Publications   Ateljevic, J. and Page, S. (2012). Tourism and Entrepreneurship. London: Routledge Cook, R. Emerita, L. and Marqua, J. (2009). Tourism: The Business of Travel (4th Edition) New Jersey: Prentice Hall Davies, P. (2008) Biometric entry visas hitting tourism to UK. [Online]. Available from: http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?id=1126476 [Accessed 21 October 2013]. Horner, S. and Swarbrooke, J. (2012). International Cases in Tourism Management. London: Routledge Holden, A. (2013). Tourism, Poverty and Development. London, Routledge Kennedy, T. (2011) UK Tourism facts and figures, The Telegraph, 20 June 2011. [Online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/tourism/8587231/UK- Tourism-facts-and-figures.html [Accessed 18 October 2013]. Lickorish, L. and Middleton, V. (2013). British Tourism. London: Routledge Richards, J. (2012). A Guide to National Security: Threats, Responses and Strategies. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press Schengen Visa Services ( 2013). Schengen Visa Application Guide . [Online]. Available at: http://www.schengenvisa.cc/apply.html [Accessed 17 October 2013]. Read More