UK upgrades visa service to attract Chinese tourists

The British government wants to attract more Chinese tourists, British Ambassador Sebastian Wood said on Tuesday.

"We're doing a number of things to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit, including gradually improving and simplifying visa application services," the ambassador told Xinhuanet reporter in an exclusive interview.

The UK has built a big network of application centers in China. "We have 12 application centers around the country," he stressed.

Last year, UK gave nearly 300,000 visitor visas to Chinese nationals, 40 percent up from the previous year. 96 percent of people who apply for visas were successful.

According to media reports, all Chinese visitors are able to use a single form to process applications for both British and Schengen visas, which permit access to 26 European countries.

Moreover, Chinese tourists holding Irish visitor visas will also be able to travel to UK in about six months.The new visa rules for Chinese visitors to Britain has been well received.

During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to London, Britain also announced that it would bring out a new "super priority" 24-hour visa service. So for paying extra fee, the applicant will be able to get that visa within 24 hours.

With the increasing number of travelers from China, the British tourism will give a good experience to Chinese visitors, the ambassador said.