British Tourist Authority chairman Steve Ridgway is spearheading a bid to get the UK tourism sector recognised by government as one of the key industries of the future.
The UK tourism industry’s bid for a potential ‘sector deal’ under the government’s industrial strategy came a step closer this week.
Agreement by the Tourism Industry Council (TIC), a group set up to collaborate between government and the tourism industry, clears the way for the tourism sector bid.
Led by former Virgin Atlantic chief executive Ridgway, the bid will now be taken forward for negotiation with government ministers.
Ridgway said: “Tourism is worth £127 billion annually to the UK economy, is one of our most valuable export industries and a job creator right across Britain and is already showing strong growth.
“We believe there is the potential to more than double the value of this industry to £268 billion within a decade, increase employment to 3.8 million and boost productivity.”
The sector deal bid was the result of the industry working together over many months to seize the opportunity to put tourism at the top of the government’s agenda, he added.
While Britain is seeing strong growth, with a record 23.1 million inbound visits from January to July, up 8% on 2016, tourism is a fiercely competitive global industry.
The UK is outspent by key competitors and losing global market share – a gap that could be closed with a tourism sector deal, according to the BTA.
The proposal aligns the industry on four priorities following consultation with SMEs, nationwide roundtable discussions, working groups and personal meetings.
Following extensive consultation across the industry, the priorities are:
• A ten-year tourism and hospitality skills campaign to boost recruitment, skills and long-term careers providing the industry with the workforce it needs;
• Boosting productivity by extending the tourism season year-round and increasing global market share in the business visits and events sector;
• Improve connections to increase inbound visits from more markets by 2030 by making it easier for overseas and domestic visitors to not only travel to the UK but explore more of it;
• Creating ‘tourism zones’ to build quality tourism products that meet visitors needs and expectations, extending the tourism season and fixing localised transport issues to improve the visitor experience.
The bid, which is being facilitated by the BTA, is due to be submitted to ministers in the coming weeks.
Tourism employs more than three million people across the UK and is made-up of 200,000 businesses.