More than 40 representatives from attractions, airports, and tourist boards have signed an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne outlining the importance of VisitEngland and the need for extra funding.
The signatories are calling for an independent fund to be established to improve tourism in England, with a focus on regional counties rather than London.
The fund would focus on product developments and require £20 million a year to ‘address the serious market failures in the tourism sector’. It is claimed that over four years, the work undertaken as a result of the fund would generate a £1.28 billion spend and support almost 24,000 jobs.
The letter also highlights how much more funding VisitWales and VisitScotland get from the UK government. ‘While all the home nations benefit from marketing afforded by GREAT and VisitBritain, both VisitWales and VisitScotland supplement this activity with dedicated tourism budgets of over £20 million and £54 million respectively. VisitEngland, on the other hand, receives a core budget of less than £7 million to support the English tourism industry.
‘This is expected to fall below £6 million in the current Spending Review and will be made even worse by VisitEngland no longer receiving Regional Growth Fund money, which between 2012 and 2015 was successful in generating over £1.5 billion spend and supporting or creating over 29,000 jobs – a devastating double setback compounded further by the end of the South West and Northern Tourism Growth Funds.
‘English tourism in our view is being unfairly overlooked with real concern that VisitEngland may soon be forced to end its business development and domestic marketing activity entirely.’
It adds: ‘Chancellor, we ask you on behalf of English tourism, its businesses, and its destinations, to review the low funding and damaging imbalance that English tourism currently experiences when compared with VisitWales and VisitScotland.’
Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk
The signatories are calling for an independent fund to be established to improve tourism in England, with a focus on regional counties rather than London.
The letter also highlights how much more funding VisitWales and VisitScotland get from the UK government. ‘While all the home nations benefit from marketing afforded by GREAT and VisitBritain, both VisitWales and VisitScotland supplement this activity with dedicated tourism budgets of over £20 million and £54 million respectively. VisitEngland, on the other hand, receives a core budget of less than £7 million to support the English tourism industry.
‘This is expected to fall below £6 million in the current Spending Review and will be made even worse by VisitEngland no longer receiving Regional Growth Fund money, which between 2012 and 2015 was successful in generating over £1.5 billion spend and supporting or creating over 29,000 jobs – a devastating double setback compounded further by the end of the South West and Northern Tourism Growth Funds.
It adds: ‘Chancellor, we ask you on behalf of English tourism, its businesses, and its destinations, to review the low funding and damaging imbalance that English tourism currently experiences when compared with VisitWales and VisitScotland.’
Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk
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