UK should step up coastal and rural tourism

THE British Hospitality Association (BHA) has welcomed the abolition of Air Passenger Duty (APD) for children, but says it sidesteps the real issue of stimulating economic growth through tourism across the UK, especially coastal and rural areas.

The association’s CEO, Ufi Ibrahim, says ‘The cut in APD is good news for the outbound tourism industry. However, the real issue is the government help that’s urgently needed by struggling coastal and rural regions of our country. Hospitality and tourism remains a vital part of the rural and coastal economy. 

Employment in hospitality accounted for about 15% of all jobs in the two Blackpool constituencies, more than 13% in Great Yarmouth and 19% in St. Ives, according to research by Oxford Economics.

‘The Chancellor of the Exchequer has missed an important opportunity to help thousands of small and medium-sized hospitality enterprises, upon which so many coastal and rural communities depend for their livelihoods. We had hoped to that the government would use the Coastal Communities Fund as part of a better co-ordinated move to regenerate rural and coastal communities with larger, more impactful, and inspiring schemes. Hospitality SMEs are the backbone of this nation, and we would have preferred to see an announcement on urgent reforms helping to encourage new investment into raising the competitiveness of coastal and rural destinations.’

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