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Vince Cable urged to take charge of tourism
Travelodge chief Grant Hearn has written to Business Secretary Vince Cable to urge him to bring tourism under his remit.
The letter follows on the back of a report commissioned by Travelodge which found tourism was one of the few industries that continued to grow during the recession from 2007 to 2011.
It claimed tourism revenues grew by 12.6% to more than £40 billion – representing 10% of GDP.
In his letter, Mr Hearn called on the the Government to move tourism higher up its agenda, and for the sector to be moved from the Department of Culture Media & Sports to Vince Cable’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
He also called for a dedicated taskforce to be created, headed up by a tourism minister. This group should be tasked with delivering growth and creating a cross departmental cohesive strategy in cooperation with all tourism partners, said Hearn.
The letter also called for credible tax breaks and steps to reduce the bureaucracy behind the visa application process, which, said Hearn, keeps so many Chinese visitors away.
Travelodge claimed that for every one Chinese tourist who visits Britain, eight go to Paris and 10 visit America. On average the typical Chinese visitor spends £1,600 whilst in the UK.
China has a population of 1.3b but in 2011 just 149,000 citizens visited the UK, spending £240m, it said. In contrast the USA attracted 1.1m Chinese visitors in the same year.
Hearn said: "Our report confirms UK tourism has successfully weathered the recession to date and outperformed other key sectors, which is great news. However as one of Britain’s biggest business sectors it deserves the chance to unlock its true potential."
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Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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