Originally Posted by
FrancisA
How many people will not come to the UK for a holiday as APD adds a lot to the cost for a family of four?
Very few as most people pay for their tickets and the price of tickets to the UK is quite comparable to the price of tickets to other European destinations, APD notwithstanding (in other words: in practice, airlines largely absorb the cost of APD in their fares).
(... And of course, if you need visas, why bother with the hassle and expense of a visa just for Britain, when you can get a Schengen visa good for most European countries? Perhaps that's why France gets ten times more Chinese visitors than the UK?)
That, OTOH, is indeed an issue and it is the case that the hassle of having to get an extra visa just to visit the UK and Ireland when a Schengen visa gives you access to most of Europe is a disincentive. That said, the decision whether to be part of Schengen or not has rather more ramifications than whether to attract more Chinese tourists.