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Tourism consultancy and information group UKinbound has claimed that Britain is prepared for an expected influx of Chinese visitors.

It has been predicted by the World Tourism Organisation that 100m Chinese travellers will be travelling worldwide by 2020 and a large proportion are expected to visit the UK.

Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Stephen Dowd, chief executive of UKinbound, said that around 160,000 people visited the UK from China last year and this number is expected to rise to 180,000 this year.

The market is expanding at a rate of up to 30% a year but Mr Dowd claimed that the British tourism industry is in a position to handle the growth.

'We're ready for the numbers that are coming right now and for the foreseeable future,' he said.

'I think the preparations have been going on for a number of years as the numbers have built up and I think it is a progressive situation. As more visitors come then we will put on more facilities specifically for the Chinese visitors.'

Mr Dowd explained that there are a range of aspects that attract tourists from China to the UK, including its history, heritage, buildings and landscape.

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