BTA must look closer to home

letter of the week

BTA must look closer to home

I read with interest the article relating to Government funding for the British Tourist Authority (Travel Weekly October 1).

I wonder why, if the BTA has received £14.2 million from the Government to beat the foot and mouth crisis, we were unable to obtain window-display material from the BTA, the English Tourism Council or the Britain Visitor Centre. “We don’t do posters” was the standard reply.

We are a busy city-centre office. We have lots of overseas visitors looking to see the sights of Britain and escape the city for a while. This is why, even a month ago, we were looking to dedicate a window to Britain. The tragic events in the US only further highlighted the need to look at all avenues of sales.

Is the BTA going to use the US tragedies as an excuse for a further downturn in business?

Maybe it should look to its ludicrous policies instead and support agencies here as well as overseas.

Both the Scottish and Welsh tourist authorities could see our potential and were only too happy to supply posters. Also, the Cumbrian Tourist Board’s response was most impressive – they have designed a window exclusively for us. It will be delivered next week.

What a difference in attitude. Come on BTA. Wake up and spend some of the £14.2million on some promotional material for your own travel agencies!

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