Conference points up need to make use of high profile

The hospitality industry needs to take advantage of the high profile it has gained as a result of the foot-and-mouth crisis, according to speakers at the Cornell University Hospitality Industry Strategy Conference, staged at the Hilton Metropole hotel in London last week.

John Jarvis, chairman and chief executive of Jarvis Hotels, said the crisis had done something "the industry had failed to do for years" by getting the attention of Government. "We have the high ground at the moment," he said. "And we need to take advantage of it."

Citing the farming community as an example of a powerful lobbying group, Jarvis argued for an official tourism alliance.

Sven Boinet, management board member at French-owned hotel group Accor, added: "The tourism industry is not well respected by many governments. We should use these crises to give some voice to the industry."