‘Government must spend more on tourism’
The Government has been urged to invest more in supporting the UK’s multi-billion pound tourism industry.
The call came the Tourism Alliance, a group of 60 bodies which promote Britain’s tourism, as it published its 2004 annual report.
Alliance director general Richard Tobias said efforts to drive Britain’s tourism trade up from £76 billion a year up to a value of £100 billion by 2010 “can only be achieved if government investment in marketing England and Britain increases to keep pace with competition from other destinations”.
And he added: “Simply relying on our reputation, heritage and attractions is not enough.”
Mr Tobias demanded tax incentives to encourage investment in skills training for staff in the tourism and hospitalities sectors “because there is still much to be done to match the performance of some of our competitors”.
He said local councils should be persuaded that investing in tourism infrastructure brings benefits to communities as well as the industry.
“The last three years have been difficult for the tourism industry but we want to put that behind us and focus the industry and government on the opportunities for growth,” said Mr Tobias. “Tourism is already worth more than the aerospace and automotive industries combined. With vision and ambition we can be even more successful.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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