Government responds to ‘Promoting Britain Abroad’ report
February 2, 2023
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The Tourism Recovery Plan comes as, according to VisitBritain, inbound tourism has fallen by 78% as a result of the pandemic – from 28.4bn in 2019 to 6.2bn in 2023. The government’s plans included to recover domestic overnight trips and inbound spending by the end of 2023.
The government responded to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s Second Report of Session. The response denied the committee of various requests including the suggestion that the government establishes a creative industries export office, expands and provides additional funding to VisitBritian. They also outlined that there are no intentions to enable under 18s to travel as part of an organised group.
Responding to the Governments response to the DCMS Committee’s ‘Promoting Britain abroad’ report, UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said:
“It’s positive that the Government recognises the value of our tourism sector, which delivers a huge £75 billion to the economy.
“However, it is disappointing and frustrating that the Government has decided to reject many of the report’s recommendations that would have aided the sector’s recovery and growth.
“Our world-renowned hospitality offering is a real selling point for visitors to the UK and I’m surprised the Government doesn’t want to make it easier for tourists to visit and spend, particularly children and young people on educational visits.
Our world-renowned hospitality offering is a real selling point for visitors to the UK and I’m surprised the Government doesn’t want to make it easier for tourists to visit and spend, particularly children and young people on educational visits.
“It remains the case that our significantly higher rate of VAT, compared to our European counterparts, acts as a burden and I would urge the Government to look at the cost benefits of lowering the rate of VAT to redress this imbalance.”
