Visa rules to affect Bournemouth economy
Wednesday 16th June,2010

A Bournemouth boss has warned that the proposed spending cuts as well as the Home Office’s stricter immigration rules on international students doesn’t bode well for the Bournemouth economy

Bournemouth Town Centre Manager, Mr Roger Parker believes the government recent decisions especially in the student immigration sector are both like ‘using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.’

The visa rules coinciding with the government’s plan to cut spending is potentially harmful to the Bournemouth economy which is reliant on tourism as well as fees gotten from international students who attend the numerous language schools and the university.

Mr Parker revealed: “Bournemouth has the second largest concentration of language schools in the whole of the UK. As such, the international student contribution to Bournemouth is massive because we have got a lot of foreign students who spend their money here as well as earn.

“We have also got host families who are reliant on international students. If all these are taken away then I think it would be damaging to our local economy,” he concluded.

In the UK, overseas students are worth £5.3bn each year, according to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

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