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Interview: BITOA chief executive Richard Tobias
British Incoming Tour Operators’ Association chief executive Richard Tobias (left) has called on the controversial new Tourism UK body to work the private sector to make sure their concerns are heard by government.
Tourism UK was set up to act as a unified voice for England, Scotland and Wales but has been criticised for simply replicating the work of the Tourism Alliance, which was formed last year to act as a unified voice for the industry.
“The fact is that Tourism UK is now here and it needs to listen to trade associations and the private sector,” Tobias told TravelMole.
“We need to make sure tourism gets the support it needs from the government and doesn’t fall off the radar.
“The British Tourist Authority has received an extra £20m this year from the government on top of its budget of £35m and this has been spent on encouraging more visitors from key markets.
“I don’t think anyone can really complain about the support we’ve had from government this year but we need to make sure it continues.
“We also want to make sure that the new English tourism board, or whatever it will be called, gets a proper marketing remit and funds. And, of course, we don’t want any additional taxes at this time. We have had an incredibly difficult time trying to counteract the impact of foot and mouth disease and terrorism.”
Tobias was one of the original founders of the Tourism Alliance and has been outspoken in the media about his surprise at the formation of Tourism UK, which is backed by Wales Tourist Board chairman Philip Evans, English Tourism Council chairman Alan Britten and Scotland Tourism Board chairman Peter Lederer.
“I have to declare an interest in the Tourism Alliance, but I believe it has achieved quite a lot in the past year,” said Tobias.
“We’ve drawn up a document on tourism spending priorities and recruited 60 members. Then suddenly Tourism UK came out of nothing.
“They don’t really know what their objective is and neither do we. We want to talk to them but they haven’t spoken to us.
“And at the launch, Tourism UK didn’t really help itself because they all seemed to be saying different things.
“But I’ve had my say on that and it’s not my job to rubbish different bodies. I want them to work with the trade associations and the private sector to lobby the government – and that’s what the Tourism Alliance is doing.”
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