Tourism in the UK could suffer if the newly formed English Tourism Council continues to ignore the importance of marketing, according to Hilton International chief David Michels.
Speaking at a Confederation of British Industry seminar held in London, Michels said the UK has an excellent track record in attracting tourists but expressed concern that the ECT has no plans to recruit marketing experts onto its new team.
“We are told in the ‘Focus on the English Tourism Council’ that the ETC will be recruiting a new core staff of experts – and we find they will be experts in tourism research and interpretation, policy, strategy, standards and technology. No marketing experts,” he said.
“We desperately need to move good marketing from coming nowhere on the agenda to leading the field in priorities and objectives. Because that is where the weakness lies in British tourism – if it lies anywhere.”
Michels also brought into question the new standardised star and diamond schemes for hotels launched last month, arguing that the fact that Scotland and Wales are not included in the scheme would confuse tourists.
He urged the tourism councils of England, Scotland and Wales to try and adopt a common rating system.