A FORMER tourism minister has called for VisitBritain to be replaced by individual tourist boards.
Speaking at Tourism Society talk ‘Funding English Tourism: A Fair Deal For England?’, Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson said the tourist board should make way for a body dedicated solely to England’s marketing needs.
Britain would then be represented by the new English board that would work with VisitScotland and VisitWales to meet the nation’s overall needs.
She said: “For the future, we should have individual tourist boards in each of the countries that will collectively come together to play the role VisitBritain does now.
“Should the Government fund VisitBritain to market Scotland and Wales when they’re doing it well themselves?”
Anderson said this would resolve the current dilemma that involves Scotland and Wales having dedicated tourist boards while reaping the benefits of extra marketing by VisitBritain. England is considered the poor relation as it has no individual representation.
She believes the individual tourist boards would be adequate to promote Britain as a whole as it would be in all their interests to do so.
Hoseasons chief executive Richard Carrick told the meeting there are now nearly 60 companies – an increase of 35 in the past two years – which are demanding the European Commission investigates the Government’s funding of VisitBritain’s accommodation bookable website, due to be launched in the next couple of months.
The companies believe that because the website takes commissions on the bookings, it should not benefit from public funds.
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