Introduction
Britain offers a very warm welcome to all visitors . But with over 170,000 different hotels , attractions and activities in Britain , how can you be sure that the places on your itinerary are set up to cater for your clients ' needs ?
The GREAT China Welcome programme was created in 2014 to signpost British hospitality businesses which are ready for China . It recognises businesses that have gone out of their way to offer exceptional service to Chinese visitors by providing tailored information , amenities and facilities .
The scheme is run by Britain ' s national tourism agency , VisitBritain , and supported by the UK government . Unlike other China-focused accreditation schemes , membership is entirely free and based solely on merit .
This directory contains details of over 300 businesses that have joined the programme so far . But the list is growing by the week . Our online version of this directory is kept fully up to date and you can also easily identify our members on VisitBritain ' s trade website http :// trade . visitbritain . com / zh-hans /
We are grateful to UnionPay International for sponsoring the directory and helping to show how many British hospitality businesses now accept payment by Union Pay .
We hope you find this directory useful and it provides good ideas for your itineraries . We are tremendously grateful for your support and look forward to working closely with all our partners in China and the UK to welcome more clients to Britain .
Sally Balcombe Chief Executive , VisitBritain photo by Eden Project 5