UK tourism minister John Penrose has extended an invitation to Thomas Cook chief Manny Fontenla-Novoa to meet with him any time to discuss tourism strategy.
The invitation, made on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport blog, comes after he was criticised by Fontenla-Novoa for turning down requests to meet.
Penrose admitted he did turn down a request to meet, but when he was just two days into the job and he was snowed under with similar requests.
He wrote: “I’m happy to talk to – and hear the concerns of – all parts of the industry and, where I can help, I’ll do my best.” Penrose said he had not had another request to meet with Fontenla-Novoa since the initial one he had to turn down.
He added: “Which makes accusations of refusing to discuss the strategy with him a tad unfair, I thought. But perhaps its time to let bygones be bygones.
“So apologies, Manny, and do get in touch. Let’s have that chat. There’s a cup of civil service coffee with your name on it. And that’ll teach you to grass me up to The Indie [Independent newspaper], if nothing else does.”
Penrose repeated his view that, although there were proposals in the Tourism Strategy that would help outbound, it wasn’t the part of the travel industry that needed most government help.
“We mustn’t forget that the outbound sector is clearly the strongest player in the tourism mix and, as such, doesn’t need as much help as the inbound and domestic equivalents.
“It is important, of course, because it employs huge numbers of people and that brings money into the economy in all sorts of ways including, of course, the money spent at airports, terminals and ports.
”The strategy is strong on consumer protection and improving transit times and making the overall ‘airport experience’ more efficient and customer friendly, and all this benefits both people arriving and departing, don’t forget.
“So even if the outbound sector isn’t mentioned as often or as explicitly as some might have wished, its importance in my mind is everywhere to be seen, I think.
“Because, at the end of the day, people have a perfect right to take their holidays, or make business trips, overseas and it would be downright perverse to suggest otherwise.”
Penrose said it was not in his powers to make changes to VAT and APD, as some in the industry want to see, saying that was the Chancellor’s job but that he looked forward to seeing plans later this month.