APPENDIX 11
Memorandum submitted by Country Land and
Business Association
In our written submission, we have highlighted
a number of areas that, we believe, are of interest to members
of the Committee. The CLA believes that it is vitally important
to recognise the contribution rural tourism makes to the tourism
industry. On currently available statistics, rural tourism generates
more than £14 billion to the economy.
As we state in the submission, the perennial
problem of the rural tourism sector is its fragmented nature.
We believe that more can be done by Government at all levels as
well as the industry itself. Rural tourism is a vital part of
the overall visitor experience but the potential of the industry
needs to be exploited. The CLA will be producing its own blueprint
for rural tourism in the next two months and we would welcome
the opportunity to set out our ideas in oral evidence to the Committee.
INTRODUCTION
1. The Country Land and Business Association
(CLA) welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Culture,
Media and Sport Select Committee's inquiry into tourism following
the FMD crisis and the events of September 11. The CLA represents
45,000 rural businesses employing many thousands in rural areas;
generating profits and incomes in the countryside; providing land,
capital and buildings for productive use. Rural businesses help
sustain the economy, environment and communities of the countryside.
Rural areas play an essential role in the life of the nation,
accounting for nearly a quarter of its population, 30 per cent
of its employment, 30 per cent of its GDP, and 80 per cent of
its landscape.
2. The CLA has recently conducted a wide-ranging
consultation of over 200 organisations and individuals to help
inform the development of its rural tourism policy. It is intended
that this policy document will be finalised by the end of the
year.
BACKGROUND
3. Rural tourism plays a fundamental part
in maintaining a vibrant rural economy. As the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Gordon Brown, stated in presenting the Government's
spending review, a successful rural economy is vital to both rural
areas and the entire economy. A vibrant rural tourism sector is
a vital piece of that jigsaw.
4. Rural tourism generates some £14
billion for the rural economy and represents an enormous opportunity
for reinvigorating the rural economy and rural communities. Rural
areas need jobs and incomes to underpin services and communities.
As agricultural incomes contract there is a need to maintain and
manage the landscape and environment. Rural tourism can provide
a means of alternative income for the farming community as well
as being a growing industry in its own right.
5. But it is clear that rural tourism is
not meeting its full potential and there are a number of essential
questions that have to be answered:
— Attracting visitors: How can small
scale rural tourist enterprises compete with bigger often urban
based tourist businesses?
— Marketing and promotion—A value-added
service: How can marketing and promotion be improved?
— Better quality and efficient service:
How can the visitor's rural tourism experience be improved?
— Representation—The policy agenda:
Who speaks for rural tourism?
— Financial and fiscal: A kick-start
for fragile rural tourism businesses: What kind of financial and
fiscal support is actually required?
— Town and country planning: How can
the planning system be made more sympathetic?
— Research: How do we prevent the over-supply
of tourist services?
— Training and employment: How can
we ensure fair competition?
— Agriculture and rural tourism: Does
tourism have a role to play in agriculture?
— Less red tape: What bureaucratic
constraints prevent business development?
THE PERENNIAL
PROBLEM
6. The one criticism of rural tourism that
is made time and again is the fragmented nature of the industry.
It lacks co-ordination and proper representation. The rural tourism
industry is particularly susceptible to structural and market
failures and will mean a continuing need for support in many cases
to ensure its viability. But fragmentation is also the most intractable
problem to resolve. What is required is a more effective coalition
to represent the disparate elements of the rural tourism industry
to Government.
PERFORMANCE OF
THE RURAL
TOURISM SECTOR:
SINCE FOOT
AND MOUTH
AND SEPTEMBER
11
7. It is well known that the Foot and Mouth
crisis of last year had an enormous impact on the tourism sector.
According to data released by the Tourism Alliance, the tourism
sector lost approximately £8 billion in global terms. However,
this masks some important differences in performance: although
farm based tourism was severely affected, primarily because visitors
believed that the countryside was closed, trade for seaside towns
increased significantly, to counter this loss.
8. Anecdotal evidence received from CLA
members who run rural tourism businesses shows that performance
this year has been mixed. Although the number of domestic visitors
coming to the countryside has increased, overseas visitor numbers
are down, primarily the result of the September 11 attacks. However,
rural tourism is largely dependent on the domestic market, accounting
for some 80 per cent of domestic visitors.
9. The number of visitors taking long breaks
in self catering accommodation appears to be down; however, visitors
taking caravanning breaks or staying at caravan parks shows an
increase. Short break destinations appear to have picked up, highlighting
the increasing importance of the short break market.
10. All in all, performance in rural tourism
thus far in 2002 has been on a par with that in 2000.
THE LACK
OF DATA,
OVER-CAPACITY
AND SEASONALITY
11. In many rural areas there is already
over-capacity in some sectors. Disaffected farmers who can no
longer earn a viable living from their agricultural occupation
have turned to rural tourism. Because they continue to receive
some income from the farm they do not need to have a fully viable
tourist business either and the true costs are often disguised.
Also a shortage of data causes real problems for those who do
have to make their business work or those who have to make a case
to their bank manager for a loan to fund their development. Business
advisers visiting farms in the wake of FMD for example are often
ill equipped to assess the prospects for a rural tourism business
because of this task. They may be able to cope with the bottom
line but the top line invariably defeats them.
12. It is still the case that the general
level of available data for day visits to the countryside is out
of date and we have yet to see effective ways of measuring the
spin off to the rural economy for agriculture let alone rural
tourism. There needs to be an effective way of measuring the value
of the countryside and landscape. The provision of better and
more comprehensive data is vital to prevent the oversupply of
tourist facilities in some areas and to ensure a more even distribution
in others. Reliable data is a key because only by knowing who
is out there in the countryside and the number of people visiting
is it possible to propose solutions. But that is not the case
at present.
THE ROLE
OF GOVERNMENT:
WHAT MORE
CAN GOVERNMENT
DO?
13. It seems surprising that tourism, generating
as it does £73 billion a year, is seen by many as lacking
profile. This is clearly in part due to the fragmented state of
the industry. But there is certainly an element of truth in the
view that a low profile is the result of no single government
department dedicated to the promotion of tourism. The Department
for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) which currently has the remit
for tourism does not even have the word tourism in its title!
Although we welcome the comments made by the Culture Secretary
at the third tourism summit about the need for cross-departmental
co-operation, we are particularly concerned that the rural tourism
voice does not get squeezed out in the process. This would be
to the detriment of all those who are striving to make rural tourism
a success.
14. The CLA recognises the importance of
the "Your Countryside, You're Welcome" (YCYW) initiative
in providing much needed promotional activity and, as a major
stakeholder, we have supported the extension to the current programme.
We believe that it is achieving its objectives. But we also feel
that unless this initiative leads to a permanent structure for
marketing rural tourist businesses, it will not have achieved
its aim.
SUPPORT AND
PROMOTION OF
THE RURAL
TOURISM INDUSTRY
Marketing
15. One of the main concerns for the rural
tourism industry is the lack of a clear brand that prevents many
rural tourism businesses working together in partnership with
the Community and other rural interests. In effect, there is a
lack of marketing focus that is detrimental to the effective delivery
of a range of rural tourism initiatives that are aimed at revitalising
and renewing the rural tourism industry:
— Bringing out local distinctiveness,
culture and heritage: branding does not relate to the countryside
or landscape criteria and the distinctiveness they possess;
— Promoting local produce and gastronomy:
strong local and regional rural tourism networks are not in place
to deliver good local connections between food producers and tourism
establishments.
16. The CLA strongly supports the need for
strong and centralised marketing of England. Some promotion, for
example, of England's country areas, needs to be done nationally
rather than purely at regional level. This is particularly the
case when looking to promote the attractions of England's rural
countryside in general, including those areas which are not historically
tourist honeypots. But it is also important for any central body
to co-ordinate its activities with industry led rural tourism
groups at the local level, the RDAs, RTBs and local authorities.
What is essential is that effective marketing can only succeed
if it is done in partnership and not in isolation.
17. London is the premier gateway in this
country but there are similar gateways in each region. The CLA
would like to work with the regional tourist boards in using these
gateways to attract tourists out into rural areas. Business tourists,
for example, could well be persuaded to spend time in the hinterlands
of regional towns and cities. Some form of promotion to the business
traveller coupled with minimum quality guarantees should be possible.
Fiscal arrangements
18. Given the problem of fragmentation and
the small scale nature of rural tourism enterprises co-operation
is not always forthcoming particularly if many perceive themselves
to be in competition with their neighbours. Difficulties arise
when there is insufficient capacity to develop the business. Clearly,
there is a continuing need for external support in the form of
pump priming. However, grant applications under the Rural Enterprise
Scheme are often complex and co-ordinated bids for Leader plus
funds are difficult to arrange.
19. If rural tourism businesses are to thrive,
they must do so on the same footing as their EU competitors. One
of the most significant restrictions to the creation of new rural
tourism businesses is the imposition of a 17.5 per cent VAT rate
on tourist accommodation. This is the second highest level of
VAT placed on tourism in the EU, only beaten by the 25 per cent
rate imposed in Denmark. In addition, it should be noted that
many farmers are particularly disadvantaged when diversifying
out of agriculture as they will be voluntarily registered for
VAT well under the minimum threshold to enable them to claim back
VAT on farm supplies. This means that they will have to charge
VAT on the supply of tourist services.
20. The CLA fully supports the points made
by the Historic Houses Association (HHA) in its submission to
the Committee on the subject of Grant Aid.
Planning
21. The planning system often holds the
key to the development of rural tourist businesses, whether it
be for the improvement, enlargement or change of use of the business
or setting it up from scratch. Almost inevitably the location
will be a sensitive one, often within an area with a restrictive
planning designation. Often the roads will be narrow and there
will be local opposition from those who oppose change.
22. There may be problems from the planning
department in a number of areas. Some of the problems identified
include:
— Finding an economic use (often a
tourist use) for the listed buildings that play such an important
role in defining the landscape and heritage and attracting tourists
which is often frustrated by the criteria used to judge applications
for listed building consent.
— Presumption in local development
plans against residential development for barn conversions in
rural areas which often leads to holiday complexes being developed
whether or not there is a perceived need. This may well lead to
oversupply.
— The need for vehicle access;(in some
areas standard access splays are simply not possible or even necessary
and there is no realistic danger to the public).
— Advertisements and road signs; rural
tourism businesses need to be able to attract passing custom for
their very survival. Current policy is very restrictive.
Quality
23. The provision of sub-standard accommodation,
cafés, pubs, restaurants and attractions is as much a problem
in rural areas as it is anywhere else in the UK. The resulting
loss of confidence in the product has a detrimental effect on
the industry as a whole. The CLA fully supports the "Fitness
for Purpose" initiative and the Quality Standards and Inspection
Schemes promoted by the English Tourism Council. Assessment is
becoming increasingly familiar and farmers are already coming
to terms with the benefits of assurance schemes in connection
with their farming operations.
24. At present the grading schemes for accommodation
focus exclusively on meeting certain minimum standards indoors.
There is nothing in the scheme that assesses the quality of the
surroundings of a property. We believe that this is a missed opportunity
and we will be promoting ideas along these lines as part of our
policy, as indicated in paragraph 2 of this submission.
25. Sir Don Curry's report into the future
of food and farming made a number of recommendations amongst which
were proposals for a broad and shallow environmental scheme. The
idea of this scheme would be to shift the emphasis of farming
support to environmental support for a two year pilot study period.
It has to be understood that within a broad and shallow scheme,
the protection and management of the landscape is a cornerstone
of rural tourism. Clearly, land managers have to recognise themselves
as delivering a key component of the rural tourism product and
Government has to recognise that delivery can only take place
with adequate funding—the result of this awareness means
that the links between the countryside, the environment and the
visitor become more explicit. We believe that this recognition
of the importance of landscape management is a vital link between
rural tourism and the future direction of agricultural support
in this country.
Training and employment
26. Many rural business operators have developed
their tourism businesses as a sideline from their main business,
which may well have been agriculture. They may therefore have
had little specific training. The same may well apply to those
who were formerly employed in agriculture and find their skills
particularly unsuited to tourism—whether it be the financial
side of running the business or marketing or dealing with the
public. The CLA recognises that much work is going into the Sector
Skills Council bid and the development of school courses and vocational
degrees in hospitality and Tourism. We also welcome the encouragement
from Regional Tourist Boards for initiatives such as "Welcome
Host".
27. The Curry report highlighted the need
for Government to fund visits for schoolchildren to the countryside.
The CLA is aware of bodies such as the Country Trust who already
have expertise in this area and could well be useful. In addition
we would like to see the close links between agriculture, the
shape and pattern of the countryside and the rural tourist businesses
that help visitors to enjoy the countryside made clear to visitors
through the RDAs, the RTBs, the ETC and Local Authorities. Individual
tourist businesses should provide interpretative material for
their visitors. Indeed, the CLA Charitable Trust has been set
up specifically to promote access to country areas for those with
disabilities.
28. In some rural areas there is a severe
shortage of labour. This may be because the jobs on offer are
low paid, seasonal and without status. Seasonality is a particular
problem with rural tourism where the countryside is uninviting
in the winter and there are a lack of covered attractions. In
a service industry these jobs still need to be done.
29. Raising the status of tourism jobs and
providing training as mentioned above may help. But the CLA believes
that further research should be undertaken into:
— Housing workers in rural tourism:
Exceptions are already made for housing agricultural workers.
With rapidly rising house prices in rural areas, consideration
is increasingly being given to affordable housing. It may be possible
to make it easier for rural tourism employers to provide housing
for staff particularly where there are problems with local recruitment;
and
— A properly funded and developed training
scheme for seasonal workers.
Information Technology
30. The ability to utilise Information Technology
(IT) is a must for the vast majority of rural tourism businesses.
The CLA welcomes the grant to the ETC for the development of the
EnglandNet online booking system. IT does hold the key for the
marketing of many rural tourist businesses but it should not be
seen as a panacea. As a few important portals develop for tourist
businesses there will be an inevitable problem for businesses
to enable their enterprise to stand out from the crowd.
31. The need for visitors to have info has
always been crucial. However, there is a problem when it comes
to the allocation of resources for providing information. The
national network of Tourist Information Centres (TIC) is an important
resource. Linking them up with a unified IT system is required.
Many of these Centres operate under different rules as to how
local businesses are promoted, what items are sold and whether
local attractions, accommodation and food outlets are promoted.
There are concerns that some do not offer information on local
small-scale facilities but instead promote larger but more distant
businesses. Often funding is uncertain especially in local authority
areas where tourism has a lower profile.
32. It remains therefore important that
local authorities maintain their budget commitments to TICs. In
addition, it is important for local authorities to embrace the
opportunities afforded by IT, such as broadband.
CONCLUSION
33. It is clear that the major problem facing
the rural tourism sector is that of fragmentation. The plethora
of rural tourism businesses and the increasing number of actors
involved in the policy making process makes it very difficult
to set out a coherent strategy for the future. The CLA believes
that this has to be tackled immediately if the industry is to
realise its enormous potential.
34. Co-operation is a prerequisite: without
it, progress will remain very difficult to make. The CLA has set
out in this statement of evidence the problems it believes have
to be addressed. This quite naturally includes the role of all
tiers of government in supporting the industry. In addition, we
have set out our views on a number of issues, such as tax and
planning, that have to be tackled within a coherent framework
in order to stimulate the rural tourism sector.
7 October 2002
| 
