Planning on the agenda for tourism
The Tourism Society is inviting industry professionals to discuss a response to the government’s consultation paper on planning for tourism.
The meeting includes a presentation by Chris Evans, the director of The Tourism Company, on the key findings and recommendations from the DETR, and the draft Good Practice Guide for Planning for Tourism.
The government issued a consultation paper in February proposing the scrapping of Review of Planning Policy Guidance Note 21 on Tourism (PPG21). The Society is keen to hear the views from the travel industry over whether this is the right course of action and whether tourism will lose out, as tourism ventures are often dependent on local and national planning regulations.
A statement issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said: “The Government has an ongoing commitment to the tourism industry, which it wishes to see flourish in response to the market. At the same time tourism must contribute to sustainable development, seeking to balance growth with conservation of the environment. The aim must be to attract visitors while maintaining those features of wider and enduring value that help to encourage tourism in the first place.”
The meeting is on 1 May from 1600 to 2030 and costs £25 for Society members and accompanied guests, and £40 for non members.
A second meeting, organised by the Tourism Society for later this month, will examine the relationship between the travel industry and the media.
The Tourism Society said: “On the whole, the relationship has been friendly and productive but there have been times when tourism has suffered at the hands of the media, usually inadvertently.”
It cites the example of the images of armoured vehicles at Heathrow Airport in the international press, which it says would have discouraged overseas visitors to the UK.
The meeting starts at 1800 on 29 April, and members of the panel include Sunvil Holidays managing director, Noel Josephides, and Holiday Which? editor, Patricia Yates. It costs £17.50 for Society members and accompanied guests, and £25 for non members.
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