Cameron woos Indians with easier visas
Aug. 12: Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday said visa restrictions would be eased for Indians to promote Britain’s tourism industry amid surge in cash-rich Indian visitors shopping in London’s plush West End.
Calling for a focus on tourism, Mr Cameron said the industry, which contributed £115 billion to the national economy annually, was “fundamental to the rebuilding of our economy” given its potential to generate jobs and revenue.
One of the ways to boost tourism in the coming years will be to ease the process of issuing visitors visas to people from India and China.
He said: “We’re going to remove some of the obstacles that put people off coming here, for example, by working more closely with our international partners to improve the local delivery of visa services in key markets like China and India.”
He said online applications for visas will be increased from one third to 75 per cent by 2011, with 100 per cent coverage by 2014.
The government will also give more power to local authorities to set tourism policy and remove bureaucracy that discourages small businesses, he said.
Mr Cameron’s visa announcement comes amidst new figures that reveal a record number of Indian shoppers scoured London’s West End and other stores across Britain for luxury goods between June 2009 and June 2010. Figures released to PTI reveal the growing international mobility of Indian tourists, whose number jumped by a record 89 per cent during the period, according to research by financial services company Global Blue.
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