The government needs to ensure travel agents are able to sell British destinations, said shadow minister for culture, media and sport Tobias Ellwood.
The Conservative MP for Bournemouth East said with the current recession people will revise where they are going on holiday and there is a massive opportunity for travel agents to sell UK holidays.
During a Westminster Hall debate last Thursday (22 January) he said: “From a domestic perspective there is now more opportunity, because people will say, ‘I cannot afford to go on that big holiday abroad any more. I’ll stay local’.”
He added: “Any travel agent will have a mass of leaflets, booklets and illustrative magazines enticing people to all corners of the globe, particularly Spain. There will often be a little section on Great Britain.
“We need to ensure that all travel agents are up to speed on the fantastic offerings that we have in the UK.”
Speaking about the global tourism market, he raised concerns that the UK is losing out to destinations such as Dubai and Thailand.