The future is in our hands
A new tourism marketing organisation for England; a public-private partnership for the British Tourist Authority and for the London Tourist Board; a Sector Skills Council for the industry; a new project, Fit for Purpose, soon to be piloted to ensure minimum standards are met; and the creation of the Best Practice Forum to raise productivity levels.
What do they all have in common? They show the industry is taking a leading role in becoming more competitive. What else? All are issues driven by the industry itself.
True, the public sector is a partner - and Government agreement is required for all the measures to come to full fruition - but it is industry that is successfully driving the modernisation agenda.
For example, last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak and the 11 September attacks emphasised the lack of a co-ordinating marketing function for England, but it has been industry that has been pressing for remedial action.
Those terrible events also highlighted the need for more funding for the BTA, but it was the industry that drove the creation of a public-private partnership for the BTA's Million Visitor Campaign.
It was the industry that drove the creation of the new tourism marketing arrangements for London, which has resulted in added core funding from the Greater London Authority.
The introduction of the Sector Skills Council for travel, tourism, hospitality and leisure would never have been agreed by the Sector Skills Development Agency without employer pressure.
Fit for Purpose is a scheme in which local authorities will ensure that every hotel and guesthouse keeps to the many health, safety and consumer protection regulations in force.
Why has industry been driving this particular issue? Because Fit for Purpose will be less regulatory than statutory inspection and registration.
And it is industry which created the Best Practice Forum, whose Profit Through Productivity programme possibly offers businesses the greatest potential benefit of all.
These are not insignificant milestones and they represent a refreshing realism on the part of the industry. The public-private partnership of the future is based on a modernising agenda that the Government needs to pump-prime and to which industry must be committed.
That commitment is critical if we are to raise standards, improve skills, encourage more effective marketing and increase competitiveness.
If these aims are achieved, through its own efforts, the industry will be seen as being more willing than ever to help itself become more productive and more profitable.
The prize is there for the taking.
by Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association
