The cross-government meetings set up by former tourism minister Nigel Huddleston to coordinate policy on travel and tourism between ministries have failed to take place since the initial meeting.
Tourism Alliance executive director Richard Toomer revealed last week that only one initial meeting took place and the cross-departmental group “did not meet again”.
Speaking at the Business Travel Association (BTA) conference in London last week on industry relations with government, Toomer noted: “There are structures supposed to deal with decisions [on travel and tourism] made across government departments, across Whitehall.
“We got a cross-departmental meeting up and running [during the pandemic]. But it met once and didn’t meet again.” He said: “Ministers don’t want it.”
Former Google head of travel Huddleston, who was tourism minister during the pandemic, promised increased coordination across government and announced in 2021 that then culture secretary Oliver Dowden “will be leading regular cross-departmental meetings” as part of a Tourism Recovery Plan launched in June that year.
Huddleston told Travel Weekly at the time: “These [meetings] have not happened before. A more formal structure is an important signal of the government’s commitment.”
But Huddleston moved to the Whips Office in September 2022 and then to the Treasury in November 2023.
He was followed by three tourism ministers in six months – Lord Syed Kamall, Stuart Andrew and current minister Julia Lopez – while a fourth, former culture secretary Sir John Whittingdale, held the post for much of last year while Lopez was on maternity leave.
Whittingdale expressed “frustration” that “time and again decisions are taken elsewhere” on travel and tourism when he spoke at a Tourism Alliance policy conference last September.
Toomer said: “Tourism doesn’t have the profile it should have. It’s 9% of GDP but doesn’t have the profile of some smaller sectors, such as agriculture.” He noted “our sponsoring department” is the Departure for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), but said: “Very little of what we want to achieve can be done by DCMS – it’s done by other departments.”
Abta continues to push for the appointment of a dedicated minister for outbound travel. Asked if he could envisage a dedicated minister for travel and tourism, Toomer said: “I would love a dedicated minister, but I don’t think it will happen.”
Pictured: Tourism Alliance executive director Richard Toomer