Hospitality Today Oct-Nov 2016 | Page 27

hospitalitytoday . com | 27
ability to compete with Europe . Visitors from China can take out a Schengen visa , allowing them to visit 26 European countries but need a separate visa to cross the channel .
Gender pay gap “ disappears ”
The latest figures also reveal that the gender pay gap has now completely disappeared , according to Fourth . Previously males earned 13p more per hour in June 2016 and 21p more in 2014 . This is a blended figure across the hospitality , with men earning more on average in the pub and restaurant sectors , while women earn more in the QSR and hotel sectors .
UK must up its game to attract high-spending Chinese
A ‘ Think Tank ’ report from the British Hospitality Association ( BHA ) has found that the UK lags behind European countries when it comes to attracting high-spending Chinese tourists to London ’ s luxury hotels .
The Report found that while France welcomes over 1 million visitors from China per year , the UK only receives 328,000 Chinese visitor applications .
Chinese travellers are already among some of the highest spenders in the UK , splashing out on average £ 2,688 a head and preferring to use credit cards .
July 2016 , showing a 4 % increase on the same month last year .
After a successful BHA campaign , the UK Government introduced a new twoyear visa in 2015 , to improve the UK ’ s
David Morgan-Hewitt , managing director of The Goring said : “ London is the greatest city in the world but it ’ s lagging behind its European neighbours in terms of attracting Chinese tourists and it ’ s time to take action .
“ Hoteliers want to capitalise on what is likely to be a much more mature market in five or ten years ’ time , but we need to be proactive today .”
The ‘ Think Tank ’ included participants from many of London ’ s high-end hotels , luxury retailers , representatives from Discover Financial Services and representatives from the BHA including chief executive Ufi Ibrahim .
The ‘ Think Tank ’ heard evidence that having dedicated Chinese and Mandarin speakers as well as Chinese TV stations ; welcoming letters in Chinese as well as Chinese beer and noodles in the minibars all help attract visitors .
The consensus from all those who took part was that Chinese travellers will be increasingly interested in staying in five-star hotels , but not until the market matures , in five years at the earliest .