Secretary of State Speech on Tourism 2012

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt MP has just given his first address on tourism in Weymouth, outlining the Government’s direction of travel in what he has identified as one of his key areas of responsibility.

He highlighted the vital importance of tourism to this country, not only as Britain’s fifth largest industry worth £115 billion and supporting 1.5 million people in jobs that cannot be outsourced or offshored, but also as an industry with huge potential for growth.

He recognised that in spite of tourism’s potential, there were some real causes for concern – the decline in visitor numbers in 2009 and the 0.7% predicted decline for 2010, as well as the increased competition, particularly from countries that have established tourism as a clear priority.

Whilst tourism will not be immune from the pain of the spending decisions that lie ahead, he stated that this Government would take a different approach to tourism.

He ran through his two key, immediate priorities for tourism:

• First, making sure we have a lasting tourism legacy from hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for the whole of the country.
• And secondly, boosting domestic tourism by rediscovering and reinvigorating what UK destinations have to offer.

His vision for the Games is to deliver £1 billion of PR and marketing, showcasing the whole of Britain in our top developing and mature markets and creating a new fund, match-funded by the industry.

VisitBritain already has a clear and established strategy to leverage the Olympic and Paralympic Games and has been working with the Secretary of State on how to deliver his vision. Detailed plans as to how the fund will work will be published by the end of September.

He also called for industry officials to help draw up a plan to reinvigorate domestic tourism to boost the tourism spend of UK residents on domestic holidays from 36% to 50%. VisitEngland have been in discussions with him. And John Penrose will be travelling around the country to seek industry views.

We are delighted that our new Secretary of State has prioritised the delivery of a lasting tourism legacy from our hosting of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and look forward to working with the Secretary of State and Tourism Minister to deliver the best marketing strategy ever seen from a host nation and securing sustainable growth for Britain’s tourism industry to ensure that Britain remains a world-class tourist destination.

This extract was taken from VisitBritain’s Special bulletins