Britain's most iconic landmarks will be given new Chinese names in a bid to attract more Asian tourists.

The move, by VisitBritain, will see famous sites such as Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, in London, Chatsworth House, in Derbyshire, and Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, adopting Mandarin titles.

The national tourism agency, which will carry out the marketing push in Asia, believes the initiative will give Chinese greater affinity with Britain and encourage them to pick the UK as a holiday destination.

The agency will carry out the drive on social media.

It comes as VisitBritain's annual report reveals 20 million people visited the UK between January and July - a seven per cent increase on last year, and a new record - and spent £11.3bn, according to the Telegraph.

Christopher Rodrigues, chairman of VisitBritain, said the record figures were 'a tribute to the industry', and forecast tourism to grow six per cent a year until 2020.

Their research showed the country's heritage is a key selling point in the Chinese market.

From a list of 18 iconic tourism attractions or experiences available around the country, the top-three among Chinese respondents were visiting Buckingham Palace, touring the 16th-century historic Chatsworth House and gardens, and visiting Edinburgh Castle, which was joint third with viewing London from the Shard or London Eye.

The agency's GREAT China Welcome programme aims to make Britain the destination of choice for the rapidly-growing Chinese market.

Visitors from China have doubled in the last five years and tourism bosses hope they will treble again by 2020.

At the centre of the programme is a new GREAT China Welcome Charter to help Chinese visitors easily identify hotels, attractions, retailers and tour operators that are making themselves ‘China-ready’ by providing information in Mandarin or Cantonese and adapting their products for the Chinese market and culture.

VisitBritain's tourism campaign, which began with the Olympics in 2012, has since generated an extra £1.8bn for the economy.

Alongside targeting Asia, the agency is also preparing a three-year £3m 'Countryside is GREAT' campaign to showcase British regions.
(Daily Mail)