Government ‘holding back UK tourism’
Britain‘s tourism industry is being held back by a government that ignores its benefits.
The assertion came from Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association and chairman of the Tourism Alliance, a the Conservative Party summit on tourism in Brighton.
Financial incentives to the industry had been withdrawn and other capital allowances had been reduced while funding for Visit Britain has been cut just at the time when it was needed the most, Cotton said.
While the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was responsible for tourism, there was no tourism section in DCMS to oversee the biggest industry in its portfolio, he added.
At the same time, responsibility for tourism was split between a number of competing national boards, government agencies, Regional Development Agencies and local authorities.
"All are publicly funded but few bother to work – even to communicate – with each other,” claimed Cotton.
“There is no national co-ordination. Some RDAs favour tourism, others do not. There is duplication of effort. Regional Tourism Boards have all but disappeared. Money is wasted.
“VisitEngland, representing a country which attracts three-quarters of all overseas and domestic visitors to Britain, has only just been set up."
He said there needed to be a government that understood that tourism was the great emerging industry of the 21st century.
Cotton warned that, in spite of the economic recession, it was imperative that the industry continued to invest
"But the recession means that this investment is already slackening. Yet it is at this precise point that the industry needs tax and fiscal incentives to encourage continued investment in new hotels, in refurbishment and in additions and extensions.
“Ironically, government actions have achieved the opposite result."
The overwhelming need was for UK tourism to provide even greater value for money.
"We have to raise standards and raise the quality of our tourism offering even higher. We need more new hotels, more new restaurants, more new tourism facilities. We need existing facilities updated. We need to gain a reputation for a warm welcome that’s second to none."
But providing this needed leadership on the part of the government in providing the right economic environment, the right incentives, and the right tourism structure.
It also needed leadership on the part of the industry to provide the right facilities and the welcome.
“If we can achieve this, UK tourism will prosper and will truly become the dominant industry of the 21st century," Cotton said.
Phil Davies
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