Tourism industry says ‘yes’ to EU
The UK’s inbound tourism industry has come out in favour of staying in the European Union.
Trade association UKinbound said 82% of its 350 members believed that staying in the EU is important to their business.
The announcement made at UKinbound’s Annual Convention follows the Prime Minister’s request for the business community’s views on EU membership.
Chairman Mark McVay said:, "Our member survey findings highlight overwhelming support for Britain to remain in the EU.
"This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the EU is an extremely important source market for tourism. It is important to our country’s economy that we make it as easy as possible for people to travel here, not isolate ourselves from the market which collectively brought two-thirds of our visitors in 2015."
Overseas visitor spending contributed £22 billion to the UK economy last year with each inbound visitor subsidising an additional £630 in export earnings and eaning £216 for the Exchequer.
Chief Executive Officer, Deirdre Wells OBE added: "We are fortunate to have a major market – the EU – right here on our doorstep. Our members have been welcoming visitors from our European neighbours for decades. They bring much needed revenue to the UK, creating valuable jobs for the UK economy. We need to continue to do all we can to attract more visitors to the UK – and saying ‘yes’ to staying in the EU sends a clear message that we are open for business".
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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