§ Sir H. BRITTAINasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, seeing that the Italian Government has decided to forgo the payment on visas by American visitors to Italy, His Majesty's Government will consider taking a similar step with a view to encouraging a larger number of American visitors to England?
Mr. LOCKER-LAMPSONNo, Sir. The very careful inquiries which have been made into this question have not revealed any evidence that visa fees influence tourist traffic, and in the circumstances His Majesty's Government are not prepared, in the absence of exact reciprocity, to incur the financial sacrifice which an arrangement of this kind would inevitably entail. I would remind my hon. Friend that the arrangement accepted by the Italian Government confers considerably greater benefits upon United States citizens than upon Italian nationals.