Brussels, 26/08/2013 (Agence Europe) - At the beginning of August, the European Commission announced that European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani, who is responsible for tourism, had, with a representative from the Chinese national administration for tourism, signed an agreement to simplify the formalities for obtaining visas between the EU and China. “This agreement is of major importance for Chinese tourists wanting to travel to Italy and Europe”, said Tajani. In his view, these measures will also help the World Expo which will take place in Milan in 2015.
According to Tajani, making the policy for obtaining visas more flexible will attract more Chinese tourists to Europe, helping to reduce the effects of the economic crisis in the eurozone. This view is fully shared by European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström. Tajani and Malmström published a joint statement in mid-August, in which they note the need for Europe to consolidate its position as the top tourist destination in the world and to attract new travellers, by improving its visa policy as a priority. “In the midst of the most severe economic crisis since the Second World War, we must take full advantage of the great resource tourism has created (…). Potential new tourists are often discouraged by red tape and practical difficulties, and in particular by the complex and lengthy procedures necessary to obtain visas to enter the EU”, they stated. Alongside long waiting periods before obtaining a meeting with the relevant consular authorities and the mass of documents needed for an application, are long distances to be travelled, in some cases, by the aspiring travellers who live in areas that are far from the consulates, Tajani and Malmström state.
If the Schengen area countries took advantage of the full flexibility of the already existing European visa rules, and accelerated the procedures, limited the number of documents needed for a visa application and provided frequent travellers with multiple entry visas, the EU would have around 46 million additional international visitors from 2015, which would result, amongst other things, in the creation of half a million more jobs, Tajani and Malmström state. On 7 November 2012, the European Commission adopted a communication aiming to make the maximum possible use of the existing rules for granting short-stay visas in the Schengen area so as to attract rich tourists from the emerging economies, while respecting the security criteria in force (see EUROPE 10725). These recommendations were positively encouraged by Tajani and Malmström who warn against competition from non-European destinations: “A growing number of countries are using tourism as an instrument of growth and economic welfare. In this context, the simplification of visa procedures is vital to allow the EU to exploit fully its enormous potential as an attractive destination” (our translation). (IL/transl.fl)