Problems with UK immigration

I've given US immigration a hard time in the past as any regular readers of this blog will know. US customs is almost a byword these days for long queues and trouble. However according to recent reports online it's possible I should have been looking a lot closer to home.

Our cruise forum - cruises.co.uk - has recently posted this article titled Concern over immigration checks on cruise ships. Below is a quote from the article.........

A joint initiative between the Passenger Shipping Association and tourism body VisitBritain, entitled 'Cruise Britain' has called for action against what it perceives as a "heavy-handed approach" to immigration checks on these liners.
In particular, the group was critical of the level of security applied to what was an "extremely low risk posed by cruise passengers".
At present, holidaymakers arriving in a UK port can face significant face-to-face checks which can take a number of hours to complete.
Passengers must also queue with identity cards to be cleared by the UK Border Force, with the rules applying to all non-British visitors, whether they go ashore or not.
Speaking to Travel Weekly, chairwoman Kate O'Hara warned that the entire industry could be under threat.
"Ships are the ultimate moveable asset and cruise lines will simply move their assets to a more welcoming and cost-effective market," she said.

As all of my cruises from the UK have been to EU ports I've never noticed any issues with UK immigration before. Indeed every time I've come back from a cruise the immigration check has always been closed and I've just walked straight off the ship, (with my wife making comments like "wouldn't it be easy to smuggle something off a cruise ship?" so maybe it's best the immigration check was closed on those occasions!).
I have however been put off booking a holiday to a country before where I know I may face a long queue to get through customs, especially if it's a cruise and I may only get a few hours in that country anyway.
Which leads me to todays question - With the economy in the state it's in can we really afford to be annoying foreign tourism money?
Surely we should be making it as easy as possible for foreign tourists to enjoy Britain so that more foreign travel companies look at Britain as a viable option for there tours, (and the money they then bring).

What do you think? Should the UK immigration agency lay off people coming here for tourism purposes or are you happy with the way things are and don't want to loosen security in case more illegal immigrants are able to slip through the net?
Let me know your thoughts here...............

Happy cruising