The government should be doing more to develop domestic, inbound and outbound tourism to create new jobs, according to more than three quarters (76%) of MPs.
Seven in ten MPs also agree that Whitehall should give equal importance to all tourism sectors – domestic, inbound and outbound – a rise of 2% from a poll of MPs a year earlier.
The findings of Abta research among 150 MPs comes ahead of the association unveiling a manifesto designed to highlight the potential that the travel and tourism industry has to create jobs and growth across the whole of the UK economy.
The ‘Tourism Mix Manifesto’ will put forward positive policy proposals that the government could adopt to drive growth in all the domestic, inbound and outbound travel sectors.
The manifesto is due to be published on February 27 at the House of Commons, with an introduction from tourism minister Hugh Robertson.
Abta head of public affairs Luke Pollard said: “The tourism industry has an incredible potential to employ more people and contribute more to the UK’s economic recovery if the right policies are put in place by ministers.
“Whether inbound, domestic or outbound, Abta is keen to see travel and tourism businesses grow and prosper.
“It is promising to see so many MPs agreeing with Abta about the need for government to do more to support all sectors of our industry.
“We will be presenting our recommendations about how government can help tourism businesses to grow, employ more people and add to economic growth when we launch our set of policies for creating a vibrant tourism mix in Parliament on 27th February.”