The chief executive of the British Incoming Tour Operators Association (BITOA), Stephen Dowd, has criticised the government for failing to support the tourism industry during the Foot & Mouth crisis.
Mr Dowd’s comments follow the release of a report produced by the Public Accounts Committee, which says the government failed to appreciate the importance of Britain’s tourism industry to the economy.
Mr Dowd said: “Finally after two years, it has been recognised that tourism was the biggest loser of the FMD crisis! How any industry can face a loss of £5 billion and be able to recover effectively without sustained government support is, as reported, a ‘serious misjudgement’.”
The report claims that while the tourism industry received £20 million in extra funding from the government during the FMD crisis, £1billion was spent on compensating the agricultural industry.
Mr Dowd said: “Unlike the tour operators, hoteliers and tourist attractions who were mostly expected to fend for themselves, the farmers were handsomely compensated”.
Mr Dowd urged the government to spend more on promoting inbound tourism, worth an estimated £12 billion a year in export earnings for Britain. He said that the industry was now facing even greater problems with the current threats of war and terrorism.
