Yes, Minister

SINCE taking up his post as tourism minister last May, Iain Sproat has faced an uphill struggle to convince the industry that he has its best interests at heart.

As we sit in his office off Trafalgar Square, he is quick to point out how highly he values the £30b per annum tourism industry, as evidenced by the fact that he has so far devoted most of his time to this section of his portfolio, leaving sports and the arts to take a back seat.

"Whatever other faults I might have, I do talk to industry figures and I take their opinions extremelyseriously," he says.

The most tangible example of his commitment to tourism, he feels, has been his attack on the industry bàte noire of over-regulation.

In a House of Commons debate on the subject last summer, Sproat launched an attack on the niggling rules that give small hoteliers and restaurateurs sleepless nights.

"We have uncorked an explosion of fury and frustration at the pettifogging burdens, bureaucracy, costs, waste of time and damage to tourists themselves," he said.

He gives me an example of the idiocy that his review of the industry revealed. "A hotel in Gloucestershire wanted to hold a dance on New Year's Eve. To do that, it had to fill in no fewer than 88 detailed forms before it could get permission."

Sproat's exasperation is clear, and he emphasises his determination to dismantle or amend many of these rules. "I want to create a structure that the industry can work."

He does not blame legislators in Europe for the plethora of restrictive legislation but rather sources in this country. "We make regulations worse by gold-plating them," he says.

Asked to comment on a recent recommendation from the Commons National Heritage Select Committee that hotels should have a TV licence per room over the first 50 bedrooms, he is dismissive. "It is not Government policy to extend the present TV licensing regulations and I should be amazed if we accepted the proposal."

The running sore of funding for the tourist boards elicits a curt response. "No," he says when asked whether he would reconsider thedecision to slash ETB funds in the coming financial year. He is currently in the middle of another review of the tourist boards' function and would like to say more on the subject but confidentiality prevents him.

His main aim, which came out of his lightning tour of the regional tourist boards last May, is to attract more regional representation on to the ETB. "I want more of a grass- roots presence because I feel the BTA/ETB are not always in touch with private industry," he says.

Last month at the Joint Hospitality Industry Congress (JHIC), Sproat rounded on the ETB's controversial Crown classification scheme and announced a review of the system.

He strongly opposes the scheme, believing it confuses the consumer.He has asked the ETB to look at a more effective alternative akin to the long-established classifications of the AA, RAC and Les Routiers. He has asked the ETB to present him with its findings well ahead of the summer recess.

Sproat concedes that the UK is losing market share of international visitors. But he is adamant that state funding for the BTA is adequate and thatthe private sector should take up the slack.

He points to his recent trip to the USA, where £500,000 is being spent to promote the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings in the hope of attracting US veterans. He expects the campaign to be capitalised on by the private sector through promotions aimed at offspring and family. "I want to see the message widened to say, ‘Come and see where your grandfather set sail for the Normandy coast'," he explains.

Asked to name what he believes are the UK's greatest assets, he refers to the traditional image of Britain held in the American mind.

"What they are looking for from us is our tradition and history, the monarchy and the whole old-fashioned image. You and I know that it's not all like that, but any attempt to switch their attention to other things just doesn't work," he says.

Above all, Sproat wants to emphasise that he is there for the tourism industry and not just an uninterested figurehead like many of his predecessors. He is also fully committed to improving the workings of the industry.

"My main policy is to get the structures in place to cope with the oddity of an industry that is vast in total but split into so many little bits."

AT the opposite end of Whitehall, Sproat's Labour Party shadow Tom Pendry is less convinced that the new tourism minister is always "there" for the industry. He makes a wry point of highlighting the tourism minister's elusiveness. He hands me a schedule showing how Baroness Trumpington has once again stood in for a meeting that should have included Sproat.

It is point-scoring for Pendry but he is not slow to realise that tourism is a serious and increasingly important business.

Pendry has been in this post for 18 months. Although his media profile is low, his active and concerned presence is acknowledged by those in both tourism and sports.

He has an impressive sporting background and his empathy with that slice of his portfolio is obvious. He admits to finding tourism fascinating but, because of its fragmentation, he says it can also prove a frustrating industry to deal with.

He believes there is an urgent need for a strong voice to represent the disparate components. "The tourism industry doesn't have much pulling power because it lacks a central campaigning voice. The tourist boards can't play that role because they are locked into the civil service structure," he says.

He is disappointed that the low-profile Council for Travel and Tourism (CTT) has not evolved into that function. "While the CTT and JHIC are a start, you'd have thought they would be more effective," he says. "They should take on a lobbying role but very little comes to me from them - the problem is their interests are so different so they can't lobby effectively."

He explains how he and shadow heritage secretary Marjorie Mowlem meet regularly with bodies such as ABTA, BITOA and the BTA. But he is candid in acknowledging the Labour Party's shortcomings in communication.

"We're trying to get as close as possible to those at the sharp end of the industry. But you can't lose as many elections as we have without realising that we're just not getting our message right. And that has included our message about tourism."

So what would it mean for tourism if the country swaps John Major for John Smith at the next election?

"For a start, we'd put the case to our Treasury for more funding for the tourist boards," says Pendry, not missing the opportunity to score an easy political point. "It makes good economic sense to support them. I think the Government has a hidden agenda to merge the ETB and the BTA. It would also be a great shame to devolve too much power to the regional tourist boards."

On the issue of red tape, he hedges his bets. While describing Iain Sproat as a "deregulator par excellence" and agreeing with him that UK civil servants are over meticulous in interpreting European legislation, he adds: "It's true that while other countries ask how they can get around a certain regulation, we interpret it to the last degree. But we must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water - there is a need for clarification on issues such as health and safety."

Not surprisingly, he mentions how a Labour government would participate in the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty. "We're for better wages and conditions in the whole hospitality industry. It still suffers from lack of training and poor pay."

The impact of tourism on the environment, a review of VAT on hotel and restaurant bills, a relaxation of the six-bed rule and a concerted initiative to help buoy the tourism potential of seaside resorts are all priorities on Pendry's Things To Do list. Whether they ever see the light of day will depend on the allegiance of the electorate. o