The which mayor project

With responsibility for transport and development and a budget of £3.6b, London's new mayor could have a big impact on tourism and hospitality in the capital. So when 200 business representatives met the candidates at the invitation of the British Hospitality Association recently (BHA), it was as much to make the sector's needs known as to hear their ideas.

The candidates who showed up, including independent Ken Livingstone and the three main party choices, explicitly acknowledged both the skills shortage and the need for more effective training.

Several emphasised the paradox of a sector that employs 275,000 people, second only to financial services in the capital, and suffers serious difficulties in hiring and retention, yet operates in an area with big pockets of unemployment.

Rich and poor

"There is a disparity between some of the richest real estate on the planet and some of the worst neighbourhoods in Europe," Conservative candidate Steven Norris pointed out. "In some areas you have unemployment levels of more than 20% in a city where a couple of miles away there are businesses crying out for skilled employees."

Liberal Democrat candidate Susan Kramer agreed. "Many of those who work in hospitality are not Londoners, but come from Australia, France and Portugal. While I welcome them, more people from Southall, Brixton and Tower Hamlets would provide the stability that you are looking for," she commented.

Frank Dobson struck a chord when he complained about the "shamefully bad" training on offer. He said: "It lets down employers and the predominantly young people who want to be trained for the jobs that are available instead of those that aren't."

However, he added, employers had a responsibility to help ensure that their needs were understood by training providers.

The poor quality of much of the capital's cheaper accommodation was also on the candidates' minds. "After spending a week in a hotel that is grubby and full of unwelcoming staff a person will probably not come to this city again," Livingstone argued.

Kramer's solution was a statutory hotel inspection system. She also suggested that more attention be paid to street cleaning: "One thing that lets down this city is that it is in many ways filthy and unloved-looking, not attractive to tourists or residents."

However, Kramer caused some unease when she proposed a 2% tax on hotel accommodation to fund these activities. Both Norris and Dobson came out against adding to the burden on businesses.

"With the strength of the pound, the cost of the London experience is already extremely high by any international comparison," Norris said. "I have never actually come across a tax that was good for business, and we are not going to help the quality of the London visit by making it more expensive."

Norris also urged the Government to drop its "ill advised" airport tax. "We can't afford to put barriers between ourselves and those who want to come and spend a great deal of money here," he said. But Ken Livingstone seemed to take a different view, proposing that airport tax be used to fund the mayor's tourism budget.

The candidates all recognised the concerns of tourism and hospitality regarding transport, but there were few concrete proposals. For instance, little thought had been given to the need for proper coach parking facilities, although Norris suggested a new park be built under Hyde Park. But Livingstone emphasised the problem of traffic congestion, proposing to cut it by 15% by imposing a levy on drivers coming into London.

The candidates readily appreciated the need for an international conference centre as a means of boosting business tourism, which at £12b annually already accounts for more than 30% of total UK tourism receipts.

"Where we really miss out is the sort of money that you get when an international association of shrinks descends on a city for a tax freebie," Livingstone argued.

However, the candidates were divided on where the new venue should be built. Livingstone and Norris were strongly in favour of Kings Cross, regarding it as a means of elevating the area. But Dobson said the area would be better off with a new sports development than a facility local residents would be unable to use themselves.

With the opening of new attractions such as the Dome, the London Eye and Tate Modern there was recognition of the need to keep up international interest in London as a tourist destination, for instance by boosting funding for the British Tourist Authority. There were also proposals to press for tourism to be extended beyond the centre to outlying boroughs.

Some candidates also thought the home patch was worth developing: Susan Kramer proposed action to get children excited about the city, while Livingstone suggested a London holiday package that would encourage Britons to holiday in their capital.

Predictably, the reactions of hospitality operators questioned after the debate focused on the tax issue. "VAT is already very high here compared with other countries, where the level is about 10%, and given the strong pound any future increase in taxes would be disastrous," said Hilton's chief operating officer Anthony Harris.

Simon Ward, Whitbread's regional director for London, welcomed the attention the candidates are giving to hospitality's concerns, particularly to recruitment. But Gill Price, managing director of the QE2 Conference Centre, was more sceptical. She said: "The problem is that there will be no new money to fund projects. It would be sad if the mayor didn't have any influence, but tourism and hospitality aren't vote winners and don't carry the same weight as transport."

However, what the candidates actually said was actually less important than what they heard from industry representatives present at the debate, according to the BHA.

"This was about getting tourism, hospitality and leisure on to the agenda of whoever is chosen," said BHA chief executive Bob Cotton. "It means that one of the first things we will be able to do after the election is knock on their door, remind them about the issues they commented on, and ask them how we can take things forward."

Cotton echoed the tax concerns, but welcomed the candidates' recognition of the skills issue. "I agree it is a paradox that there are 15,000 notifiable vacancies in our industry, yet London has some of the highest unemployment in the boroughs. That has to be an issue we can take forward."

Who's running

Geoffrey Ben-Nathan,PRO-MaSS (Pro-motorist and Small Shop)

Dr Geoffrey Clements, Natural Law Party

Frank Dobson, Labour

Ram Gidoomal, Christian Peoples Alliance

Damian Hockney, UK Independence Party

Darren Johnson, Green Party

Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrat

Ken Livingstone, Independent

Michael Newland, BNP

Steven Norris, Conservative

Ashwinkumar Tanna, Independent

London Tourism

Employees: 275,000

Value: £9.5b

Visitors in 1999: 26 million

Proportion of total international visits to the UK: 53%

Total restaurant spend by visitors: £1.6b

Average leisure spend by individuals: £500

Average business spend by individuals: £750

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 20-26 April 2000