Hoteliers campaign for full-time tourism chief

Hoteliers are calling on the Government to take the tourism industry more seriously and invest in a full-time chairman to head its new tourism body, rather than appoint a part-timer.

The new body, which will be a merger of the British Tourist Authority (BTA) and the English Tourism Council (ETC) and will come into force in April next year, will be headed by Tom Wright, currently chief executive of the BTA.

The position of BTA chairman, a two-days-a-week post currently held by David Quarmby, is to become vacant in May.

Martin Skan, owner of Chewton Glen in New Milton, Hampshire, is heading a campaign involving some of the UK's top hoteliers, urging the Government to reconsider the appointment. He said that he believes a part-time chairman to be a "waste of time" and simply an excuse for the Government to save money.

Martin Cummings, who owns Amberley Castle hotel in Arundel, West Sussex, described current efforts to promote Britain to the European market as "pathetic", and added that a full-time chairman who was not "slowing down in their career" was needed for the job.

David Levin, owner of London's Capital hotel, described the two-days-a-week post as "an absolute disgrace".

However, the Government is standing firm and has said that it has no intention of installing a full-time chairman. A spokeswoman for the Department for Media, Culture and Sport said: "It is going to be advertised as a two-days-a-week appointment. It is a strategic role, and we feel two days is sufficient."

by Christina Golding

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 14 - 20 November 2002