Chinese and Indian tourists are the first nationalities who will be able to take advantage of the Joint Visa Initiative between Ireland and the UK, beginning this Autumn. Niall Gibbons (right), CEO of Tourism Ireland, welcomed the scheme saying: "It will be easier than ever before for visitors from emerging tourism markets like China and India to visit the island of Ireland. It is a significant step in helping us to grow visitor numbers from these markets." Currently visitors from these countries require a separate visa for Ireland and one for the UK. Gibbons added: “For the island of Ireland, the majority of our overseas visitors come from Great Britain, North America and Mainland Europe, and while this will continue, it is important that we expand our focus beyond these markets and look to the long-term opportunities presented by new tourism markets, particularly China and India, which we believe will play an increasingly important role for travel and tourism." Tourism Ireland believes that this Initiative makes particular sense, as visitors from China and India are already travelling a considerable distance, and often want to include more than one destination on their itinerary. It will now be easy for them to visit both Ireland and the UK on a single visa. Tourism Ireland will be working closely with VisitBritain to promote the scheme in both India and China.
