Industry Leaders Debate Government's Role in Uk Tourism
At The British Travel Trade Fair
LONDON, UK, March 6, 2006. Chief Executive of VisitBritain, Tom Wright FTS, urged the UK tourism industry to maximise the opportunities created by the Olympic and Paralympic Games and use the event to demonstrate why tourism has to be taken more seriously by government.
While fellow panellists at the popular annual 'burning issues' session backed this view, Julian Burrell FTS, Chairman of the Wales Tourism Alliance, sounded a note of caution, saying that separating tourism from the wider economy, of which it was a vital part, could backfire. James Bidwell, Chief Executive of Visit London, commenting on the role of the Tourism Minister, supported the link with Creative Industries, saying 'creativity is fundamental to entertainment, which is after all the purpose of tourism'.
Other issues raised at this year's Tourism Society 'Question Time', chaired by Travel Weekly editor Richard Siddle, included recruitment and retention in the tourism industry, spreading the benefits of the Olympics across all of the UK, quality assurance, the need for London's ICC and the role of local authorities and regional development agencies in developing and managing tourism.
Commenting on quality assurance, Tom Wright FTS said: 'Although Scotland, Wales and England are all now working to the same quality standards in accommodation, we must now focus on visitor attractions where only 600 out of 4,000 are quality assured'.
James Bidwell said more needed to be done to develop business tourism, which had shored up the industry after the London bombings. He urged the sector to support the proposal for a London ICC, which would complement Excel and host the extra business already being generated ahead of 2012.
Peter Lederer OBE, Chairman of VisitScotland, reflected on visitor information services, saying that Tourism Information Centres are not now sustainable and visitors are looking for a wider range of information sources, as well as the face to face service provided at TICs. The panel concluded with a plea for more joined-up thinking in the public funding of UK tourism. Scotland and Wales were further down the road than England, but there had been a long period of confusion for the consumer and the industry and this needed to be resolved.
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