PM Tourism Statement Not Enough for Olympic Success
UNITED KINGDOM, November 17, 2005. The Statement of Intent issued by the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) after yesterday's meeting of tourism representatives with the Prime Minister was worthy but lacking in any meaningful content and will do little to address the real issues facing the UK tourism industry in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. In a press release following the meeting Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell criticised the productivity of the tourism industry and demanded that it "improve the consistency of its quality and raise the level of skills" to meet the challenge of hosting the Olympics.
UKinbound Chief Executive Stephen Dowd said, "This was a cynical political ploy by DCMS to shift the spotlight from their woeful record on tourism issues. The quality of UK tourism products and services stands comparison with the best in the world and our workers are as productive as all our main competitors. Yes, there is always room for improvement and there are some skills shortages in key areas but that is more to do with Government's "unfocused and confusing" approach to vocational and Further Education as highlighted in the Foster Report published yesterday."
"The real barriers to our visitor economy realising the full potential of the 2012 Olympic Games are our lack of competitiveness in a price sensitive global market and the failure of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to provide a coordinated and cohesive structure for tourism in England. It is time to reduce the tax burden on our visitors and businesses and Government should compel the RDAs to contribute a proportion of their income to a central fund for the international marketing of England. The Government continues to duck these issues while DCMS has compounded the problem through their shambolic handling of the recent Gambling, Licensing and Smoking Bills; all of which will have a profound impact on tourism businesses."
"UKinbound is willing and able to work with Government and the various Olympic bodies to ensure that the UK tourism industry can maximise the potential of the 2012 Games for the benefit of the whole country but politicians must understand that to make the further investments required, industry needs Government to address these issues with tangible action not rhetoric."
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