SPROATRETHINKSCROWNSCHEME

TOURISM minister Iain Sproat is to scrutinise the national Crown classification scheme with a view to replacing it with a clearer system.

Mr Sproat made the disclosure at London's Olympia earlier this week, when he was interviewed in front of 180 industry leaders at the first conference organised by the Joint Hospitality Industry Congress (JHIC).

He said he was unhappy with the scheme and had asked the English Tourist Board (ETB) to find out how fully it was understood. "It may be we decide it's the best system, but I doubt it," he said.

He later told Caterer he was going to compare the scheme closely with those operated by the AA, RAC and Les Routiers to see if a better alternative was available. "I'm not satisfied crowns are widely understood," he said. "People think they are just like stars."

The ETB is due to report back in April or May and Mr Sproat wants to get the ball rolling on the review before Parliament goes into its summer recess.

His comments come in the wake of a British Tourist Authority survey which found more than two-thirds of overseas visitors failed to recognise the Crown symbol (Caterer, 13 January).

Some delegates at the JHIC conference were surprised at the minister's candour on how he viewed the tourist boards.

Mr Sproat said the ETB had grown too much in its 25-year life and had become too bureaucratic. He had told the ETB to redistribute its budget, with more going to the regional tourist boards (RTBs).

He also said he wanted the RTBs to raise more of their funding from the private sector, while there should be more regional representation on the ETB board.

The British Tourist Authority, meanwhile, was spending too much time on the domestic market, when its core activity should be to attract foreign visitors.

Mr Sproat's appearance at the conference was a coup for the JHIC, which was formed just over a year ago to act as a single voice for 11 industry associations, including the BHA, HCIMA and the Restaurateurs Association of Great Britain. The theme of the conference was "One industry leading the recovery".

Another speaker, Alan Hopper, managing director of Pannell Kerr Forster Associates, said the economy was recovering, but he warned hoteliers to tread cautiously as it was set to peak again in 1997 or 1998.

"We're about to enjoy four or five good years before the next lean ones," he said.