A former government head of tourism is in a key position to represent the industry’s views to ministers. Deirdre Wells spoke to Ian Taylor
Senior Whitehall figures often switch from public to private sector, but seldom in travel. So industry association UKinbound staged a coup by securing Deirdre Wells, former government head of tourism, as chief executive in March.
Wells had worked at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for 20 years and been head of tourism since 2011.
Her understanding of how government works should prove invaluable – and not just to the inbound sector. Wells said: “I hope I can provide a bridge to help the industry understand what works [with government] and how to make a difference. What does not work is shouting from the sidelines. The worst thing you can do is not be in the room for discussions.”
Asked what does work, she said: “A lot is about relations with senior policymakers. Ministers are time‑pressured. You need to meet with the policy-operations guys and not once, but several times.
“It helps to provide a level of detail – for example, the top five most-challenging things in the visa process – and to be realistic about what is achievable. But it’s not only about having a list of things you need done. Ministers are very keen on success and good stories. Tourism is a success story at the moment. Help ministers celebrate tourism. Tell me the breakthrough you’ve had and I can get that into a minister’s speech.”
Wells is not impressed by all she has seen from the sector in the past. She said: “Industry lobbying is mixed. People tend to shout in the press, be too ‘single issue’.
But I’ve seen some good lobbying. VisitBritain has done very well.”
She added: “The government likes to see recognition if it takes a baby step [forward].” Wells describes the recent reform of APD – the move to a single long-haul rate from April 2015 – as “a real vote of confidence in the industry”.
She said: “We wouldn’t have got APD changed without a lot of work behind the scenes with Treasury officials saying ‘look at the figures’. The government always responds well to evidence. I would say to the industry, ‘Keep making the case. Provide evidence. Make the case robustly. But be realistic.’”
DCMS promotes UK
Wells accepts the separation of inbound and outbound tourism can be unhelpful. But she denies the DCMS or the government fail to see the sector as a whole.
She said: “The feeling [at the DCMS] is the government has to promote UK tourism. But there is recognition of the totality of the sector – and the totality of the contribution to the economy. This is what the Deloitte report – on the economic contribution of the tourism economy in the UK – looked at.” The report was published last November.
Wells said: “The outbound industry is hugely important to the UK economy. The contribution in terms of pre-purchases is key. But obviously when you work in the government’s Department of Tourism you want people to come here.”
She added: “Formally, DCMS does not have a remit for outbound tourism, but its remit is to champion tourism.”
Travel frequently comes up in talks between governments, she said – particularly “in ‘soft power’ discussions”.
“All democracies make huge efforts to avoid economic or military sanctions,” she said.
“There is recognition of the ability to build diplomatic relations through cultural and educational exchanges. Also, where there are trade negotiations – which can be protracted – tourism can build an economic bridge.
“Look at the number of direct routes opening between the UK and China. Tourism is a key element to these ‘soft power’ discussions.”
Tourism worth supporting
It may not always be apparent to the industry, but Wells insists: “DCMS is becoming an economic department, driven by tourism and broadband [the government’s commitment to provide super-fast broadband nationwide].
“The upturn in inbound visitors has done more than anything to make the government think tourism is worth supporting. But, like an oil tanker, the government takes a while to turn.”
She said problems are often less about getting rid of this or that and “more about enforcement or implementation”. Sometimes what is needed is “hand-holding businesses through dealings with government. So much of the sector are SMEs.”
Asked what the government head of tourism does, Wells explains: “Fundamentally, you provide policy advice to ministers. A lot of what I did was working across government, representing tourism’s views to other departments. Other bits of government impact on our sector. You depend on other people to deliver and you need the support of ministers.”
The visa process remains a concern. Wells said: “I understand the realpolitik, when a red line is a red line – and joining Schengen [the pan-European visa scheme] is a red line.
“There are particular issues in applying for visas. It’s different in every market; if you remove the documents from a Chinese family, they can’t function.” She suggested there would be a biometric visa system “in the next two years”. “In the meantime, we push for as many improvements as possible.
“There is an aspiration in government to keep up the growth in visitors. There is also a need to keep borders as secure as possible. But we made a massive breakthrough last year in recognising the imperative to keep visitor numbers up. The figures are staggering – a 9% increase in a year.”
Wells insists: “There are opportunities to push the agenda of tourism [as a whole].”