English tourism outraged at Government "snub"

The English Tourism Council (ETC) is fuming at the Government's failure to provide extra funds for promoting England to domestic holidaymakers. Culture secretary Chris Smith announced this morning that an extra £12m would be made available to promote Britain as a tourist destination overseas in the wake of the foot-and-mouth epidemic. But the ETC was told it would get no more money to entice British holidaymakers back to the countryside. It had put in a bid for £35m in extra funds. ETC chief executive Mary Lynch described the decision as "a body blow to tourism businesses in the countryside." She added: "The ETC is deeply disappointed at the Government's failure to recognise the importance to the tourism industry of people who take their holidays at home. "Nearly £4 out of every £5 spent on tourism in England comes from the people who live here." A spokeswoman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: "The push now is to work on the negative images that people from abroad have of Britain at the moment. That's where we feel the emphasis should be placed." She said holidaymakers from the UK were already returning to the countryside, as seen by the level of business over the Easter break. "The message is getting home to people in Britain, but overseas it's a lot harder to dispel that image." The ETC and regional tourist boards had already received £3.8m to help boost domestic tourism at the start of the foot-and-mouth crisis, she added. The British Tourist Authority (BTA), which will spend the £12m, welcomed the Government's announcement. Chairman David Quarmby said: "We can now get straight on with promotional activities in all the affected markets to boost visits from overseas for the summer, and with initiating a longer-term programme to re-present Britain to the world." The BTA's current estimate is that inbound tourism for 2001 will be 10-20% short of original forecasts, resulting in a likely drop in revenue of £1.5-£2b. Overseas visitors spent about £12.8b in the UK in 2000. Domestic holidaymakers and day trippers spend £52b, according to the ETC. Shadow culture secretary Peter Ainsworth said of the £12m cash injection from the Government: "It is too late to recover thousands of lost overseas bookings, it is too little to make an impact on international perceptions of Britain, and it misses the point that given the advanced stage of the booking season it is the domestic tourism market that is absolutely critical."