Tourism Society joins criticism of VisitBritain cuts
The Tourism Society has added its voice to industry condemnation of government funding cuts for VisitBritain (see previous stories).
The society described the cuts of almost 20% over three years as “very harmful” to Britain’s tourism and “fails the public interest of the UK population in optimising the potential social, environmental and economic benefits of tourism”.
The Government was urged to rethink what the society described as a “very short sighted decision” at a time when the Arts received an increase of £50 million – more than the entire VisitBritain budget.
Tourism has been the least favoured of the activities within the remit of the Department of Culture Media and Sport under the Labour government, according to the Tourism Society.
“VisitBritain is having to spread its limited funds to cover emerging markets, but as a result investing in our most valuable long established markets has been severely limited,” the Tourism Society said.
“In the USA, VisitBritain ranks somewhere near 30th in spend after places such as Portugal, Panama, Peru, Turkey, Spain, Greece, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Ireland and Australia.”
With promotional work needed for the 2012 Olympic Games in London needing to be kicked off after next year’s games in Beijing, the Tourism Society warned: “VisitBritain will have to fund initial Olympic-related activities from its reduced grant, further reducing its core activities.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt