Tourism chief concerned VisitBritain is not focused on business
Wednesday, 11 Feb, 2011
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The British Hospitality Association has applauded VisitBritain’s new focus on key markets but has warned that there is danger in not prioritising the business market.
Speaking after VisitBritain announced yesterday it was making 70 redundancies and introducing a new strategy for coping with the 34% cut in its government funding, the BHA’s Ufi Ibrahim said she agreed that the agency should use its limited resources on the most important markets.
She said: “Unfortunate though it is, the need for VisitBritain to re-focus became imperative once the government’s 34 per cent cut in funding was announced. It is far better to concentrate on key markets than to spread resources too thinly over a wider area and thus be far less effective.”
But she added: “The corporate market is significant and many hotels in major city centres rely on overseas business travel and corporate meetings and events. It’s unfortunate that resources don’t spread to this important sector.”
The BHA estimates that the business market is worth more than £3.6 billion in overseas revenue.
She went on to underline the importance of VisitEngland’s submission for funding from the Regional Growth Fund, a government pot set up to stimulate private-sector led economic growth.
She said: “The VisitEngland application is certainly the key to the future success of English domestic tourism. With a soundly financed, part match-funded programme, VisitEngland can really develop a three-year marketing campaign with local partners to encourage more people to holiday at home. If the bid isn’t successful, the opportunity to boost domestic tourism will be lost.”
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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