Until now only business and study trips to Britain was officially permitted, Chinese tourists booking through selected travel agencies will benefit from simplified and facilitated procedures to apply for tourist visas from Britain.

ADS simplifies the exit procedures for Chinese tourists - they are able to use ordinary passports and apply for tourist visas when wanting to visit an ADS country.

VisitBritain will now join a high profile delegation of senior industry figures, led by the Government Minister for Tourism, in a visit to Beijing next week. The delegation will focus on the potential for marketing Britain as a destination for the Chinese.

The World Tourism Organisation estimates that the number of tourists leaving China has risen by a million every year since 1998. Forecasts suggest that by 2020 there will be 100 million Chinese traveling overseas, that is four times the total number of overseas visitors who currently come to Britain each year. In the year 2003 20.2 million Chinese citizens went abroad, up 22 per cent year-on-year.

Britain joins a number of other European countries that have already been granted ADS status. Germany was the first EU country to be granted ADS independently in the year 2000. In February 2004 the Chinese National Tourism Administration signed a ruling with the European Union that granted ADS to Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

Australian tourism has already received a significant boost in 1999 following the signing of ADS with China. The Australian Government now estimate that the number of inbound Chinese will reach 1 million by 2013, accounting for 12 per cent of the total number of visitors. The number of Chinese tourists to Australia has increased by up to 30 per cent per annum in recent years. 

Britain is already an extremely popular destination for the Chinese. Action taken by the Government in the year 2000 made it much easier for Chinese students to study in Britain, with figures from the University entrance body UCAS showing that in 2003 no fewer than 6,114 came to British academic institutions. The strength of interest in China for studying in Britain is enormous – 28,199 Chinese applied to British Universities in 2002. Latest research shows that Chinese visitors are already spending £127 on visits to Britain (2003 statistics), a staggering 60% rise since 2002.

China's economy continues to grow on average by 9% year on year, effectively trebling in size since 1991. In addition, 75 million Chinese now have internet access. The growing prosperity and interest in the outside world will entice an increased number of people to travel to countries such as Britain.

Tom Wright, VisitBritain Chief Executive, commented:

"We are delighted that the Chinese National Tourism Association has signed this agreement with Britain.

"Granting ADS to Britain is good news for China and the UK. We look forward, in time, to welcoming more Chinese tourists to Britain.

"As other European countries already have ADS agreements in place, VisitBritain will face strong competition from other countries. We will work closely with the travel trade and the press to market Britain as a distinctive destination within Europe.

"VisitBritain has a new pan Asia contact centre, based in Hong Kong, that will provide information on Britain in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. We have also recently opened offices in Shanghai and Beijing to support our marketing of Britain as a leading destination within China for leisure, business and education. With an increasingly prosperous population of 1.3 billion people, China will undoubtedly be a huge growth market for UK tourism in years to come".