| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Jan 2003 : Column 89W—continued
Hotel Development (London)
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what targets her Department has set for hotel development in London; and what assessment she has made of performance against them. [91379]
Dr. Howells: Good progress has been made towards the targets set in, and subsequent to, Tomorrow's Tourism for hotel development in London. The Government consider that further capacity, including budget accommodation, is still necessary. However, responsibility for tourism matters in London is now devolved to the Mayor and the London Assembly. The Mayor's recently published strategy document, 'Visit London', addresses accommodation supply and more specific proposals for futuredevelopment will be included in the forthcoming 'Action Plan'.
20 Jan 2003 : Column 90W
Hotels and Guesthouses
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures her Department has taken to introduce a grading scheme for hotels and guesthouses; and what assessment she has made of them since their introduction. [91380]
Dr. Howells: The harmonized National Quality Assurance Schemes (NQAS) for hotels and guesthouses were successfully launched in September 1999. The English Tourism Council has co-ordinated various forms of ongoing assessment at an operational level, including the reaction of both industry and consumers. The Government consider that more emphasis is also required on improving quality at the bottom end of the scale and will pilot a new fit for purpose initiative to address the problem of unsatisfactory hotels and guesthouses. Total membership has of the harmonized schemes has risen, with benefits in occupancy levels for members, but not as much as had been hoped. Therefore, a two-stage review of NQAS is being planned. The first stage will start very soon and consider harmonizing the schemes across Great Britain. The second will relate to England and look at matters such as the efficiency of inspections and the level of promotion.
Paper Supplies
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who the suppliers are of her Department's (a) paper and (b) paper products. [91906]
Dr. Howells: All paper purchased for use in photocopiers, printers and fax machines is recycled paper and is supplied by contracted stationery supplier Corporate Express. Other paper products and print are sourced wherever the specific contract dictates and where best value for money can be obtained.
Rugby
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance she will provide (a) to the Rugby Football League in helping promote supporters trusts within rugby league and (b) to rugby league clubs wishing to establish supporters trusts. [91981]
Mr. Caborn: DCMS established Supporters Direct in 2000 to assist groups of supporters in forming and administering club-based trusts. Supporters Direct's remit covers Association Football only, and it is funded from football sources. In response to requests from supporters and clubs, Supporters Direct has provided informal assistance in the formation of trusts at a number of rugby league clubs over the last year. Officials in the Department are in discussion with Supporters Direct and others with a view to formalising this arrangement, and to providing Supporters Direct with the additional resources it will need to provide a high quality service to rugby league.
Tourism
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will list the organisations and individuals attending the Tourism summit in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002; [91372]
20 Jan 2003 : Column 91W
- (2) what measures her Department is taking as a result of the Tourism summits in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002; [91371]
(3) when her Department held Tourism summits in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002. [91373]
Dr. Howells: The first Tourism summit of pan-Government Ministers and other key players in the tourism industry was held on 1 March 2000. Three subsequent summit meetings have been held on 6 March 2001, 5 March 2002 and 26 November 2002. The final reports of the first three summits held, which include details of the organisations and individuals that attended these meetings, are available on the DCMS website (www.culture.gov.uk/tourism). The reports also record the progress made in implementing the various aspects of the Government's strategy for tourism and the key conclusions and actions arising from the meetings to assist the development of tourism. The report of the fourth summit, held on 26 November 2002, is currently being cleared for publication with attendees. It will also be available shortly on the DCMS website.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent measures her Department has taken to support regional tourism; and what assessment she has made of those measures. [91374]
Dr. Howells: As announced on 31 October 2002, the Regional Development Agencies will, from 1 April 2003, play a stronger part in the strategic leadership of tourism and the Regional Tourist Boards will be their natural partners. The RDAs will receive at least £3.6million for each of the next three years to distribute to the RTBs for activity in line with regional tourism strategies and within the national policy framework for tourism. Guidance has been issued to RDAs on how tourism should be covered in their Corporate Plans and Regional Economic Strategies; Corporate Plans for 2003–06 are currently being submitted to Government for approval. The RDAs will also be represented on the board of the new national tourism body, whose initial chairman has been announced as Sir Michael Lickiss, who until recently chaired the South-West RDA.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken to regenerate traditional tourist (a) resorts, (b) amenities and (c) services. [91375]
Dr. Howells: The Government consider not just regeneration of traditional tourism but also the generation of new activity, in line with developing consumer tastes, to be hugely important. Building on Government strategy in Tomorrow's Tourism, the English Tourism Council published 'Sea Changes', which outlines recommendations for successful regeneration of England's traditional resorts. A key point is that tourism may well play an important role in resort regeneration, but will rarely be the sole source of a sustainable local economy. Local government recognises the importance of tourism and its document 'A Change of Scene', which this Department supported, sets out many useful ideas for dealing with tourism-related regeneration. The Government's view is that local government has a key role in improving and supporting the regeneration of resorts, amenities and services, as do the regions, the private sector and its
20 Jan 2003 : Column 92W
trade associations, and many central government departments. In line with Tomorrow's Tourism, much progress has been made, including, for instance, initiatives on accommodation quality (including the lower end of the market) and programmes to improve bathing water standards and beach amenities (now better than ever before). Local Authorities are well aware that other services they provide, such as visitor information or the provision of litter services, contribute significantly towards the creation of attractive environments and lead to improvements in visitor experience. Our recently announced new emphasis on domestic marketing and the regional dimension to tourism strategy, will help stimulate focus on the importance of maintaining high quality amenities and services for tourism across the country, including our traditional resorts.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken to develop niche tourism markets, broken down by type; and what assessment she has made of those measures. [91376]
Dr. Howells: Recent BTA campaigns have been themed around Britain's key strengths of great heritage, great countryside, great sport and great cities. The BTA evaluates the impact of its campaigns in the overseas markets in which they run. A new overseas strategy will advance this approach further by introducing market-specific campaign themes and marketing tools.
We anticipate that the England Marketing Advisory Board will consider introducing similarly focused campaigns for the domestic market, in due course.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken to integrate the promotion of British cultural heritage and countryside attractions. [91377]
Dr. Howells: Britain's cultural heritage and countryside are key attractions for overseas visitors. The BTA uses strengths such as these to develop its campaigns, such as one on Cities for 2003 and another on Outdoor Britain for 2004.
We anticipate that the England Marketing Advisory Board will consider introducing, in due course, campaigns for the domestic market which are similarly focussed on our key strengths.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many employers in the hospitality and tourism-related sector have been signed up under her Department's towards the Investors in People standard since 1999. [91382]
Dr. Howells: An action point in the 1999 strategy document Tomorrow's Tourism was for a hospitality industry programme to sign up 500 employers to work towards Investor in People standard to help raise the quality of training in the industry. Latest available figures show that the number of hospitality organisations
20 Jan 2003 : Column 93W
recognised as achieving Investors in People status has increased from 865 in September 1999 to 1,215 in August 2001. In addition, 957 organisations were signed up to working towards the accreditation in August 2001.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when in the last 12 months her Department held a careers festival and image campaign to raise the profile and promote the image of careers in the hospitality industry; and how much was spent. [91383]
Dr. Howells: My Department works pro-actively with Springboard UK the specialist industry body responsible for promoting career opportunities in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry. They hold Career Festivals every 12–18 months. The last Festival was held in October 2001 and this Department contributed £15,000 towards two magazines focussing on careers in the sector which were launched at it. No Festival was held in 2002. We are currently working with them on their fourth Careers Festival taking place from 31 March to the 6 April 2003 and my Department is represented on the Festival Executive Committee. The Festival is intended to help build a more positive image of the sector and raise awareness of the range and diversity of career prospects within the industry.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps her Department has taken to develop internet systems to deliver worldwide tourist bookings and provide information on attractions and travel options; [91385]
- (2) what steps her Department has taken to encourage the provision of computerised tourist booking and information services. [91384]
Dr. Howells: In 2002, Government awarded £3.6 million to the EnglandNet project to develop a world class on-line tourism network for England. EnglandNet will provide quality-assured tourism information and empower tourism businesses to sell their product through new electronic outlets.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial assessment she has made of her Department's overseas visitors promotion programme in each year since 1997–98. [91386]
Dr. Howells: The British Tourist Authority, which is responsible for promoting Britain overseas, evaluates its activities, and results show that, for every £1 of baseline grant-in-aid awarded to the BTA by the Department, the following amounts in additional expenditure by overseas visitors have been generated:
| Spend | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 28 |
| 1998–99 | 27 |
| 1999–2000 | 29 |
| 2000–01 | 30 |
| 2001–02 | 26 |
20 Jan 2003 : Column 94W
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on developing its overseas visitors promotion programme in each year since 1997–98. [91387]
Dr. Howells: The British Tourist Authority, which is responsible for promoting Britain overseas, has been awarded baseline grant-in-aid by the Department as follows:
| Year | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant (£million) | 35 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 35.5 |
In addition, £14.2m was awarded in 2001–02 and a further £19m in 2002–03 from the reserve in order to drive forward a strategy to help tourism recover from the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak and the attacks of 11 September.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initiatives her Department has developed to widen access to tourism for people who do not take a long holiday. [91388]
Dr. Howells: DCMS works with both the industry and relevant bodies to encourage ways of making tourism accessible and more inclusive to these groups which tend not to take long holidays. Initiatives developed by the English Tourism Council (ETC) and Regional Tourist Boards include the enhanced National Accessible Scheme, the creation of an accessible website and the Access 21 project which are aimed at helping people with disabilities take holidays. Other examples of relevant initiatives include the recently launched website, Just Me and the Kids, which gives information to help single parent families plan holidays in Lancashire; the launch of a North West Marketing Kit and a destination manager handbook, currently being worked on by ETC, both of which outline the benefits to the industry of creating an inclusive environment.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she has taken to publish a blueprint for the sustainable development of tourism. [91389]
Dr. Howells: The English Tourism Council (ETC) published Time for Action, a strategy for sustainable tourism in England, in April 2001. The British Tourist Authority published Sustainable Tourists, a strategy for the sustainable growth of inbound tourism to Britain, in October 2001.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |