2. What are the advantages and challenges of this kind of initiative for the travel industry? According to the Chinese National Tourism Administration (CNTA), 97 million Chinese citizens travelled overseas in 2013, which represented a 14 million increase on 2012.

Although the stereotypical image of Chinese is that they travel in tour groups, are mainly interested in buying luxury branded goods and only eat in Chinese restaurants, in reality there is growing preference for genuine experiences and self-improvement.

VisitBritain (www.visitbritain.org) is the national tourism agency for promoting Britain worldwide and developing its visitor economy. VisitBritain’s Great China Welcome Charter was introduced in 2013 to facilitate Chinese visitors in terms of finding

‘China-ready’ services, and therefore helping UK businesses modify and/or develop their services for the significant opportunity presented by the Chinese market.