The Federation of Tour Operators is hoping the government will come good on pledges made last week to support British tourism.
Speaking at the National Tourism Summit in Liverpool, both prime minister Gordon Brown and secretary of state for culture, media and sport Andy Burnham pledged to support the industry.
The prime minister said that the UK stood to attract millions more people in the years ahead as global tourism flourished in line with the development of emerging economies such as China and India.
He said: “This is a great industry, millions of jobs depend on it and it creates a huge amount of wealth for our country. I believe it can be even greater in the future.”
Due to the economic crisis many have predicted that more people will book late and holiday in the UK, providing an opportunity for agents.
However, FTO director-general Andy Cooper said: “I can’t see that the government will do much as it doesn’t seem to recognise the economic benefits that the travel industry brings to UK plc.”
He said key issues the government must tackle are the cost of UK visas, the cost of Air Passenger Duty and the poor welcome given to overseas visitors by UK immigration services.
VisitBritain has been asked to list key areas where the government can act to help drive the visitor numbers during the downturn. The tourism agency is asking trade staff for suggestions, which will be passed on to tourism minister Barbara Follett. Send suggestions to industry.relations@visitbritain.org