Tourism bodies have welcomed the signing of an agreement between Britain and China that should allow growing numbers of Chinese visitors into the UK.

Foreign secretary Jack Straw today signed a memorandum with China's tourism minister that paved the way for the UK to be granted "approved destination status".

This will permit groups of Chinese natinoals to visit the UK as tourists for the first time.

Until now the Chinese government has generally only permitted travel to the UK for study and on business.

UK tourist board VisitBritain said: "Chinese tourists booking through selected travel agencies will benefit from simplified procedures to apply for tourist visas from Britain."

Stephen Dowd, chief executive of UKinbound (formerly the British Incoming Tour Operators Association), said: "This agreement will provide a new range of opportunities for the UK's inbound tourism industry and should prove a major boost to our tourism export earnings for many years to come."

In 2003 tourists from China reached a record 20 million and this is set to increase to 100 million by 2020, according to the World Tourism Organisation.

According to UKinbound, if the UK can attract 1% of this market by 2007, this could generate about £1.1b for the British economy and create about 25,000 jobs.

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