One of Britain’s most senior diplomats has warned David Cameron that the United Kingdom is losing a vital public relations battle with France over China’s swelling pool of tourist cash.
In a blunt letter sent to the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, Sebastian Wood, Britain’s ambassador in Beijing, roundly attacked the British habit of self-criticism and said that Chinese tourists “can easily be taken in by the ‘fortress UK’ caricature”.
Mr Wood’s comments deal a stinging blow to the Government as London prepares to host the Olympics and senior MPs squabble publicly over immigration policy and whether it is turning away lucrative tourist money from China.
Mr Wood, who has been heavily criticised for the way his embassy handled the suspicious death of Neil Heywood, a British businessman, in China last November, argued that the chief problem was one of image control.
In its ongoing efforts to keep Britain politically on the defensive, said Mr Wood in remarks that could play badly in Beijing, China’s formidable propaganda machine seizes on negative stories about the UK visa regime. His comments come amid tensions between Britain and China after Mr Cameron’s recent meeting with the Dalai Lama.
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Despite evidence that the number of UK visas issued to Chinese tourists was rising robustly – and more quickly than for France – he said: “We make it easier for them by criticising ourselves, which is completely self-defeating.”
The French, he added, “really are considerably better organised than we are. Their PR work on tourism is all about spin and positivity – ours seems to be more about self-flagellation.”
Mr Wood suggested that the resources allocated to the Visit Britain campaign were inadequate given what was at stake – potentially millions of Chinese tourists only now discovering a taste for foreign travel and still undecided about which country will be their favourite destination.