Has tourism found a supporter?
The tourism industry may at long last have found a sympathetic ear in Government following the appointment of Stephen Dorrell as Secretary of State for National Heritage.
Last week the new secretary of state told a group of tourism industry leaders, brought together by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), that he appreciated the value of the industry and wished to help it.
"Where are the constraints that hurt?" he asked. "Where does the shoe pinch? Which aspects can make your life easier? That is the means by which we can allow you better to expand your business."
Mr Dorrell's experience at the Treasury - his last ministerial post - is both a boon and a disadvantage for the tourism industry.
For the first time, the industry has a Cabinet minister who can understand the economic benefit tourism contributes to the UK. He has an analytical approach and is prepared to listen to well-formed business arguments.
But on issues such as VAT on hotel accommodation and funding for the English Tourist Board (ETB) and British Tourist Authority (BTA) he will be a hard man to persuade.
He said that during his time at the Treasury he was constantly presented with convincing arguments for reducing taxes on various goods and services, but he was never given a suggestion for replacing lost revenue.
On the issue of tourism funding, Mr Dorrell agreed that the BTA and tourist boards make an important contribution.
"But I'm only a week out of Treasury and old habits die hard. At Treasury we always used to say catalyse not subsidise."
However, Mr Dorrell said he would need more time to work out in detail how the tourism industry could be supported by Government.
At one point during his speech, as the riverboat hosting the conference cruised up and down the Thames, Mr Dorrell was given a sharp reminder of the challenge Britain's tourism industry faces. As it passed under Vauxhall Bridge, a traditional London red bus thundered overhead carrying a Visit Korea in 1994 advertising sign.
Asked by delegates how Britain was to compete with other countries in the face of cuts to tourist board marketing budgets, Mr Dorrell said his task was to ensure the BTA and ETB got the best possible return from its money.
He hinted that if the performance of the tourist boards improved then the money made available to them might increase.
Earlier, however, Mr Dorrell had been told by Sarah Dale, managing director of Sarah Dale Travel Company, that Britain spends less on marketing itself to the USA than Aruba, a tiny island in the West Indies.
"The BTA is doing its best within a bad scenario," she said. "In the UK you see major marketing campaigns for foreign destinations. That's what Britain needs now overseas."
- Mr Dorrell announced at the conference that Viscount Astor, a former director of Cliveden and Blakeney Hotels, would be his tourism minister, allowing Iain Sproat to focus on sport and deregulation.
