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Labour's
failure to support British Tourism
Gordon ('the
recession's not my fault Gov') Brown attempted to promote British
tourism last week with a hastily organised summit in Liverpool encouraging
us to weather the economic downturn by choosing a domestic rather
than overseas holiday. Why it takes a recession for Brown to realise
the value of UK tourism is puzzling. It is after all our fifth biggest
industry, worth around £115bn and the UK remains the sixth
most attractive destination in world.
This is, however,
despite the Labour Government, not because of it. Our share of international
tourism has declined by 10 per cent since Labour came to power.
If this was
not bad enough, the infra-structure to support and promote British
tourism is a confused, overlapping, competing and costly group of
QUANGOs; a result of 4 nations, 9 regions, 70 counties and over
300 local authorities following often quite separate agendas. The
absence of any co-ordinated approach is reflected in the fact that
there are six different UK offices in Boston, Massachusetts promoting
different parts of Britain.
In Parliament
itself, the tourism industry has no champion promoting its interests
or fighting its corner. There is no dedicated Tourism Minister or
annual debate on the subject. Yes, some tourism issues are covered
by Department of Culture, Media and Sport but in reality, the smallest
department in Government has little influence over some of the major
decisions affecting the industry. For example burdensome B&B
fire regulations were introduced by the Dept for Communities and
Local Government, and the Home Office doubled the cost of UK visas
doubled last year without any consultation with the DCMS.
The state of
our tourism industry is summed up in Visit Britain's latest report
which says "Tourism is the hidden giant in the British economy.
Without government support this industry will continue to punch
below its weight." Rather than just passing comment, Gordon
Brown must wake up to the significance and potential of tourism.
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