Viewpoint: Foot-and-mouth crisis
Foot-and-mouth is the biggest crisis to hit the industry since the war and it's a fallacy that it is only harming rural tourism.
True, the rural economy is being hit the hardest and customers are disappearing like mist in the sun as the cancellations roll in. But cities are not immune, either. London is suffering with cancellations by both European visitors and US visitors - and many of the latter strangely seem to believe foot-and-mouth is a human disease.
But pictures on CNN and other US television stations of funeral pyres of cattle are definitely discouraging. Cities such as Birmingham and Bristol have seen business slump because of the postponement of the normally busy Cheltenham week. Southport alone has lost £500,000 with the loss of the Waterloo Cup.
Overall, the loss of £200m a week for the tourism industry calculated by the English Tourism Council is probably now an underestimate. If the crisis continues, the losses will mount inexorably - and Easter is only just around the corner. By then the losses could be approaching £2b.
So what is the industry asking from the Government? Not a cash handout, but rather a real understanding of the plight of the country's tourism industry. We need:
A moratorium on hoteliers' current VAT payments;
A similar moratorium on PAYE payments and on business rates;
An instruction to the banks and government agencies that they should take a sympathetic attitude to repayment of loans by hoteliers, restaurateurs, pubs and other tourism operations.
These measures would help to conserve cash-flow at a time when revenue has been drastically reduced.
At the same time, we are seeking an extra £10m of government funds for the BTA and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish tourist boards: half immediately and the rest to rebuild tourism once the crisis is over.
We need to reassure overseas visitors immediately that Britain is not in a state of siege and we also need to encourage the domestic market to take to the British countryside once again.
Why are we asking for these special measures? Because tourism is vital to the UK economy. It is a far more substantial industry than farming. In fact, it is five times as large.
The hearts of hoteliers, restaurateurs, publicans and those running visitor attractions go out to those farmers who have lost their livestock, but it is a fact that they will receive some compensation. Few, if any, in tourism will receive anything at all for an equally serious loss of income - certainly not from the insurance companies.
Staff are being laid off - and anticipated recruitment is not going ahead - resulting in the break-up of some long-established teams. Spring promotional campaigns by the tourist boards have been postponed. With many rural economies entirely dependent on tourism, the case for an understanding and sympathetic approach from the Government to the entire industry is overwhelming.
But there may be one silver lining. Recent government statements appear to have recognised the importance of tourism to the rural economy and to the nation. It is clear that Whitehall, and the media, realise the damage being caused by the crisis.
This is all to the good. The industry has come together to present its case. That, too, is a positive development. What is needed now, however, is action rather than words. There is little point in this belated recognition if what is left is an industry where too many jobs have been lost through no fault of its own - and too many businesses have gone to the wall.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 22-28 March 2001
