PLANS have been announced to lure Chinese visitors to the town.
Creating a multicultural centre and student accommodation could be the first steps in attracting huge numbers of Chinese visitors to Barnsley, the president of the Chamber of Commerce has said.
Owen Gleadall said plans to turn the former TEC building and Gateway Plaza 2 into student accommodation and Wellington House into a cultural centre would be beneficial to the town economically and financially.
One of the first Chinese tourists to visit Barnsley, Mary Lui, is looking to bring potential investors from China to Barnsley to help get the developments underway.
She enjoyed a three-week holiday in Barnsley in May where she viewed the properties before taking information back to China. She will return to Barnsley next month.
Owen said: "I said to her we've got this huge town centre development plan on the drawing board but it's not been funded and whether it's something that investors might be interested in.
"When she got back to China she spoke to them about how they can be involved."
Owen said there are links with Barnsley College and Chinese students coming to Barnsley, but he was concerned there would be nowhere for them to live.
He said the aim was to get more links with China and the investors would be making a financial stake in the town.
"I think it would be fantastic. It seems to me that a lot of the economic development has slowed because of a lack of money.
"Do we have any real objection to it being Chinese money when we have got links to China anyway?"
Mary attended a meeting with Owen and other interested parties before she left and also met with Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis, who voiced his support.
