Guest Comment: Funding Crisis in Domestic Tourism

Monday, 28 Oct, 2003 0

By Ken Male, destination management consultant

Just when England has acquired a marketing role at the national level, funding at the local level is at real risk. As the national campaigns will be dependent upon support from local authority tourism sections the whole exercise becomes fragile.

Historically, local authorities have developed a sort of co-operative for the small businesses in their area, contributing financial and resource support to promote their destination products – primarily accommodation and attractions. By pooling funds with their private sector partners they have achieved a reasonable promotional profile which would be impossible to achieve individually.

The Council Tax crisis is putting such tourism support funding at risk. The government is blaming the local authorities and the councils are blaming the government for the shortfalls, but whoever is to blame the outcome is the same…reduced budgets! The high profile services, education and social services, get the publicity about the cuts, and the impact on tourism fails to make the news. It is not as newsworthy as cutting teachers numbers! Politically, tourism is not such a vote winner as social services, but what is overlooked is the number of people who work in, or own, small businesses who will join the unemployment queue without this support.

Tourism is not a statutory function of local authorities, and so when money is tight it is an easy budget-cut target for the treasurers. It is not only the cut in the marketing fund (which most private sector businesses cut last rather than first) but also in the provision of visitor services. The local authority provides Tourist Information Centres, beach and street cleaning, attractions etc. etc. If these are allowed to deteriorate the visitors will vote with their feet.

In recent years efficiency savings have covered the cuts, but mostly there are no more efficiencies to be made. Now, reductions in marketing funds and in these service are happening, and will increase in the foreseeable future.

What is required is a radical rethink of where the money comes from and how it can be best used to support the local community. Uniform Business Rate is not a local tax but a government tax redistributed to where government sees the need. Local businesses do not understand why their money cannot be used locally.

So, ironically, we are in danger of having a central fund created for marketing England through VisitEngland and no funds locally to make it work!