After many months of wrangling between the government and the opposition parties a compromise has been achieved over what has come to be known as the “Backpacker Tax.” Legislation to tax young foreign workers at 15 percent from the first dollar they earn will now pass the Senate. [...] These visas were initially designed as a form of “cultural exchange.” 

It feels next year offers the best time to introduce this change with 2017 designated the UK-India Year of Culture. When both nations aim to build on strong collaboration in business, art, music, design and other fields. Having a cheaper and extended UK visitor visa will help enhance these endeavors, the report said.  

China has reasons to feel it can use outbound tourism as a soft power to influence foreign policy. Governments across the world are adjusting their visa and other regulations to welcome the rising tide of Chinese tourists.

The recent bill passed by Congress aims to clamp down on the visa waiver program with provisions that essentially discriminate against Iranians. The ACLU calls H.R.158, passed last Tuesday by overwhelming support (419 yes), as a measure calling for "blanket arbitrary discrimination based on nationality and national origin."

In January 2012, amid concerns that the U.S. was failing to capitalize on global tourism growth, President Obama issued an executive order aimed at improving U.S. visa processing in Brazil and China.

The United States and India are in the middle of a diplomatic spat. It began when India's deputy consul general in New York, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested last week for allegedly submitting a fraudulent visa application for her housekeeper.