Guest comment: What is happening with domestic tourism?
Comment from The Tourism Society
In a debate organised by The Tourism Society, held last week at the Bonnington in Bloomsbury Hotel, it was noted that only four of the original 12 English Regional Tourist Boards remain, with the nine Regional Development Agencies taking portfolio responsibility for tourism in their region.
It was also announced that the Government’s long awaited Tourism Prospectus has been slipped out very quietly, and was still not available publicly available. Apparently the document only appears to cover marketing, etourism, data, quality and skills and doesn’t explain why the current structure of the tourism industry is such a shambles nor what the government plans to do about it.
Throughout the evening’s debate many issues were raised including tourism funding, government involvement, transport, the Olympic bid, sustainable tourism, grassroots enterprise, SMEs, town planning and industry engagement.
The main outcome was that the domestic tourism industry needs to find a champion who will persuade the Government that tourism is an important activity, requiring more funding, more permanent government responsibility and a structure that can facilitate industry engagement from a grassroots level.
Ginny McGrath
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments