Call for Whitehall leadership to support growth and jobs in the UK tourism industry
12/08/09 | 10:37
Not reaching its full potential, poorly regarded in Whitehall and in danger of slipping further behind international competitors – these are the key findings of a report from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Travelodge about the tourism industry in the UK.
The report, ‘Backing UK Tourism: Destination Recovery’, highlights that despite being the fifth largest sector of the UK economy, employing 1.4 million people and generating revenues of £86 billion, further growth of the tourism industry is being held back. Nominally co-ordinated by one of Whitehall’s smaller departments, the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), the tourism industry would be more suited to fall under the remit of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS), which is responsible for generating wealth and jobs for the UK.
Furthermore, DCMS only directly funds around £50m of the £350m of public sector annual spend on support for the tourism industry. The rest is filtered through numerous different departments with little or no accountability to the Minister responsible for tourism.
Tourism can ill-afford the current status quo: the industry has the second worst balance of trade tourism deficit in the EU, and inbound passenger numbers to the UK deteriorated by 18% between 1997 and 2007.
Commenting, Dr Adam Marshall, Director of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Tourism will play a key role in Britain’s future economy, but the industry needs stronger, clearer support from Government to reach its full potential. This is a sector which can rapidly create jobs, even in the current economic conditions, yet it suffers from an extremely confused support structure. Ministers need to recognise the potential of the industry and make necessary reforms, which will help underpin the UK’s economic recovery.”
Grant Hearn, Chief Executive of Travelodge, said:
“Reforming the support structure in place for tourism will free the industry from its current constraints and allow it to flourish. It is one of the few sectors of the economy which is both currently creating employment opportunities and can contribute a lot more. If that is to happen however a sea-change in attitude within Whitehall towards our industry must take place.
“Tourism should be removed from DCMS and the responsibility for delivery given to DBIS, supported by a full-time Minister tasked with policy co-ordination. Urgent reform can then take place, freeing up VisitBritain to concentrate solely on promoting the UK abroad. If the Regional Development Agencies, domestic tourist bodies and local authorities then had to report directly into DBIS, I have no doubt we would see a far better use of the public money available for tourism promotion.”
Ends
Media Contact:
Sam Turvey
Tel: 020 7654 5813
Email: s.turvey@britishchambers.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
The prize for reforming the Government tourism support structure is great. VisitBritain estimate that the tourism industry could create an extra 164,000 jobs and grow into a £113 billion industry by 2018, making it clear that the sector is worth Government support as both a job and wealth creator. Crucially, it is the BCC and Travelodge’s belief that no extra investment is needed to create this growth, just reform of the current system.
The key recommendations from the report are:
- Tourism should sit within DBIS, rather than DCMS, to ensure better co-ordination of funding. A Minister should have sole responsibility for tourism, and DBIS should take full responsibility for national strategy and policy.
- In England implementing tourism policy is the responsibility of the RDAs, while in the rest of the UK this is controlled by the devolved administrations. Due to no clear government guidance, RDA performance in England is at best patchy. Going forward, any future government should implement stronger oversight for regional delivery. For example, through clear national policy guidance or reallocating resources to help fund VisitBritain’s activities.
- VisitBritain’s overall strategy should include far more provision to help sub-national and private sector bodies market their organisations. To help free up the resources to assist with this, the government should manage policy and strategy - functions currently undertaken by VisitBritain.
- The English Tourism Intelligence Partnership must be funded by central government to ensure that robust statistical information about the sector is available.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is the National Voice of Local Business.
The BCC sits at the heart of a powerful nationwide network of Accredited Chambers of Commerce serving business across the UK, which employ over five million people.