Seaside resorts in the UK need to be revamped so that poorer people can holiday in them according to former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.
Speaking at the Travel Convention today Livingstone claimed overseas holidays were predominantly for rich people.
And therefore UK seaside towns, which are not up to scratch in his view, need some sprucing up.
He added: “About 54% of flights are taken by people who earn more than £40,000 a year whereas those earning under £21,000 make up 5% – this is already a class issue.”
Livingstone lent support to the Conservative Party’s policy of scrapping plans for a third runway, expressing his belief that the west needs to curtail its air travel while it grows in other parts of the world.
He added London businesses also failed to convince him of the need for expansion of the airport.
Livingstone said he had been converted to the power of tourism to London after seeing the impact on the likes of theatres and hotels after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
But on outbound tourism he would like to see a tax imposed after the first holiday of the year.
His only positive point about outbound tourism was that it breaks down barriers between countries and breeds better understanding of other cultures.
- More from the Travel Convention at travelweekly.co.uk/tc2010