APPENDIX 15
Letter to the Clerk of
the Committee from Mr Martin Sandbach, British Tourist Authority/English
Tourist Board
The Research Department of the British Tourist Authority
and English Tourist Board has submitted a report to the Millennium
Unit of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, assessing
the impact on tourism of the Millennium Experience.
In that report we also briefly considered the issue
of the wider impact of other Millennium Celebrations.
We had found in the main report that estimates of
the impact of Millennium Experience were very hard to make given
the absence of hard facts and informed opinion about the precise
nature of the contents and attractiveness of the Dome.
This is even more true of other Millennium Celebration
events outside of London.
We concluded however that these events would in part
act as a diversion of interest from the Dome. They would therefore
diminish the impact of Dome on regional tourism.
Overall there can be little doubt that Millennium
Celebrations—as an exceptional once in a life time event—will
generate additional tourism expenditure. A small part of this
expenditure will be additional tourism expenditure by visitors
from abroad; the majority will be expenditure by domestic tourists,
some at the expense of expenditure on other tourist attractions,
some at the expense of other disposable budgets.
It is not possible to make an econometric analysis
and we cannot offer a firm opinion on how the redistributive impact
will be split, but our study on the Millennium Experience does
suggest that few tourist attractions believe that Millennium Celebrations
will decrease their business in 2000. This view is strengthened
by "The Consumer and Leisure Futures", published by
the Henley Centre, which suggests that tourism expenditure is
seen as an essential one, and other sacrifices are made before
leisure spending is compromised.
The investments being made in tourism related projects
as part of the Millennium Celebrations will make a significant
impact on the infrastructure and quality of visitor attractions.
The Scottish Tourist Board, for example, estimates that £207
million will be invested in such projects in Scotland alone.
On a national basis this represents a very significant
improvement of our tourism product, which will both help to keep
Britain competitive in the international market place in the year
2000 and onwards. This impacts on tourism by making Britain more
attractive for both inbound tourists and domestic tourists.
May 1998
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