Has tourism fallen off the government agenda?
The government has taken tourism “off the front burner” after a short lived prominence following the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to an industry think-tank.
Travel and tourism experts including representatives from Accoladia, the British Tourism Authority, the English Tourism Council, Six Continents Hotels and The Tourism Society attended the ‘Out of the Box’ meeting in London earlier this month, which was chaired by Sustainable Tourism Laboratory chairman Geoffrey Lipman and organised by KPMG.
Delegates at the meeting made a number of recommendations, which will be distributed to senior government as well as media and industry leaders. These included a call for government investment to kick start education and training in the industry, along with more public sector led initiatives on issues such as transport, security and the environment.
Mr Lipman (left) said: “An issue of major concern is that heightened government awareness of the economic significance of tourism has, in many respects, gone off the front burner. Despite the resilience shown by the industry post September 11 and foot and mouth, it would benefit enormously if public sector purses were earmarked to help tourism flourish, and deliver its potential for greater wealth and job creation.”
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