Visa policies and high air taxes are 'inhibiting' Britain

However, the council warns that growth in the UK’s travel and tourism sector is likely to slow this year, to 2.8pc from 3.4pc in 2013, as high taxes on air travel and visa policies hold Britain back.

David Scowsill, president and chief executive of the WTTC, also warns that proscrastination over infrastructure schemes, such as new runways and the HS2 rail link, are damaging the UK’s ability to compete for vital income from the global travel and tourism trade, which is worth $7 trillion (£4.2 trillion).

The WTTC has assessed 184 countries as part of its research and is in a unique position to compare policies in the UK with those elsewhere in the world.

Mr Scowsill said: “The UK is not taking the potential of travel and tourism seriously enough and is losing out [on] vital income and potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs at a time when creating employment opportunities for young people is vital.

“A composite of issues are contributing to a quelling of demand: Air Passenger Duty is the highest air tax in the world; the Government has ruled out a lower VAT rate for hotels and restaurants; a lack of long-term planning in airport infrastructure; and restrictive visa policies.

“This means the UK is losing out on potential visitors to some of its European competitors, who are implementing more forward-thinking policies.”

Mr Scowsill compared the UK’s tortuous debate over where to build extra runway capacity in the south-east of England - which won’t produce a decision until 2015 - with China’s infrastructure policies.

“They are busy building 69 new airports in China over the next five to 10 years so that no person in China will be living more than a 90-minute drive from an airport.”

He added: “The UK is not good at taking long-term infrastructure decisions.”

Mr Scowsill also warned Britain is still missing out on its “rightful share” of Chinese tourists - the highest-spending travellers in the world - compared with rival economies such as France and Germany. He said the UK’s visa processing regime remains uncompetitive compared with the Schengen system, which allows entry to 26 nations in the European Union but not Britain, despite improvements announced last year by the Chancellor, George Osborne.

The improvements, which included a pilot scheme allowing some Chinese travel agents to use Schengen forms to apply for UK visas, are a step in the right direction, Mr Scowsill said, but he added that visas remain a “real constraining factor” for Chinese visitors coming to the UK.

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