During his recent trade mission to China, Britain's Chancellor, George Osborne, announced the relaxation of visa regulations for Chinese visitors to the U.K. Under the scheme, Chinese nationals coming to the EU will not need to submit separate visa applications for trips to the U.K. This long overdue measure will eventually bring millions of Chinese travelers to British shores.

The main benefit to U.K. tourism, cited in the media here, was the prospect of high spending Chinese visitors eagerly snapping up top name brands. Indeed, many exclusive shops have employed Chinese speakers to help increase sales. However, there is another tourist market that will be of special interest to Chinese visitors. It is one which won't have entered the mind of George Osborne or London's Mayor Boris Johnson. Visiting the places associated with the life, work and death of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels will become a "must do" trip for Chinese tourists.

Before I continue, I should make a declaration of interest, as I organize weekly walking tours in London on the life and ideas of Karl Marx. However, when I investigated the scale of China's promotion of the red tourism industry since 2004, I was truly astounded!

The facts are simply extraordinary. In 2011 alone, there were over 500 million red tourists in China. Communist Party organizations at all levels are responsible for promoting the industry nationwide. Red tour themes concern the history of Chinese communism from the founding conference in 1921 to the 1949 revolution. Many red tourists are part subsidized by enterprises, schools and colleges. The industry is a political, historical and cultural movement, and is an integral part of China's economic development plans for former revolutionary base areas, which remain less developed than the eastern regions of China.

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