VisitBritain boss quits as funds are cut

Serious questions have been raised about the Government's tourism strategy after the chief executive of VisitBritain announced his resignation just weeks after the head of Visit London revealed he was stepping down.

Tom Wright is leaving VisitBritain after seven years to join a new charity, formed from the merger of Age Concern England and Help the Aged, and will step down from the tourist board after a handover period of unspecified length.

The move follows an 18% cut in funding at VisitBritain and a 40% reduction in staff numbers to 135 and comes after Visit London chief executive James Bidwell's announcement in September that he was quitting to return to the retail sector.

Kurt Janson, policy director at the Tourism Alliance, said Wright's departure was a great loss and added that the "lack of support from Government was probably a contributing factor to his and Bidwell's resignations".

"With the Government's funding cuts to VisitBritain and Visit London it is easy to see how their heads could feel frustrated having to constantly fight for funding and not being able to concentrate on the job at hand," he said.

Liberal Democrat tourism spokesman Don Foster said funding and staff cuts "must have played a part" in Wright's decision.

"The Government must reverse these cuts and show its support for VisitBritain before more damage is done to the tourism industry," he added.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of Business in Sport and Leisure, said Wright would be missed but added that "he has done his time and with the pressures of all the cost cuts I can understand why he would be looking for other opportunities".

No decisions have been made about replacements for either Wright or Bidwell, and one industry figure warned that "tourism is now completely bereft of leadership at a critical time".

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By Kerstin Kühn

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