The Conservatives were the only one of the three main political parties to offer support for Travel Weekly’s Yes Minister campaign this week.
The backing came as the party sought to put tourism at the top of its political agenda ahead of the general election during British Tourism Week.
At the Best of Britain and Ireland Travel Trade Forum, Travel Weekly spoke to representatives from the three main political parties to ask their views about our campaign.
Conservative Tourism Task Force chairman John Lewis was the only one who pledged to create a dedicated tourism minister post, although the focus was still clearly more on domestic tourism.
The position would not be at cabinet level and the current Conservative shadow minister for culture, media and sport, Tobias Ellwood, has been earmarked for the role.
Lewis said: “We’ve had eight tourism ministers in 12 years and four secretaries of state [for culture, media and sport] in three years. You couldn’t run a whelk stall with that kind of experience.
“We’ve got to have a tourism minister solely devoted to the industry.”
However, Don Foster, Liberal Democrat shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, argued a single tourism minister would be merely a figurehead, unable to deal with a number of different departments that have responsibilities for tourism.
He said: “A tourism minister wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference in persuading the Treasury about what you want to do.”
Margaret Hodge, minister for culture, creative industries and tourism, said she chairs both the Tourism Advisory Council as well as an inter-ministerial group set up to discuss tourism.
She said that many of the areas she oversees in both culture and the creative industries crosses over with tourism and so strengthened the current role.
“I punch well above my weight in government,” Hodge added.
A full interview with the Conservatives’ Tobias Elwood will appear in Travel Weekly next week.
The Yes Minister campaign, launched two weeks ago, demands the next elected government reflects the importance of the outbound and inbound tourism industries by creating a dedicated senior ministerial post.
A Downing Street petition has already been signed by almost 750 people and support has come from many of travel’s biggest companies and organisations (see above).
- Support us: Sign the Yes Minister petition
Cameron: tourism is a ‘jewel in the crown’
To coincide with British Tourism Week, Conservative party leader David Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne made key speeches about tourism.
Speaking in Yorkshire last week, David Cameron said: “What I can promise you is this: I think travel is a very important strategic industry for Britain. I want to have a strong tourism minister and I want to give him or her their proper place and give them the chance to get on and do the job, rather than endlessly chopping and changing.”
In Blackpool last Friday, shadow chancellor George Osborne said: “Given that the election is almost upon us, some people might ask why someone who aspires to be the next chancellor of the Exchequer is making a speech about tourism.
“I make no bones about it. I’m here because I believe that British tourism is one of the jewels in the crown of the British economy.”