APPENDIX 24
Memorandum submitted by UK Sport
To encourage the current state of the British
Tourism Industry and current government policy towards the sector,
including the administrative and supportive infrastructure and
any relevant initiatives or proposals for change.
INTRODUCTION
1. The United Kingdom Sports Council (UK
Sport), welcomes the opportunity to provide the Select Committee
with written evidence on the state of the British Tourism industry
(applicable to the Sports Tourism sector only), and addresses
the following four points as requested:
— The current situation, and the likely
future of the British Tourism industry, following Foot-and-Mouth
Disease and the events in New York on 11 September 2001.
— Whether the Government has a role
in supporting, promoting and/or regulating the industry.
— What that role should be.
— Whether the current arrangements
for supporting, promoting and/or regulating the industry:
— Meet the need adequately;
— Reflect the devolution settlement
appropriately;
— Promote the quality of provision
effectively; and
— Encourage productivity within the
industry.
2. UK Sport was established by government
to be the lead agency for the attraction and staging of major
sporting events in the UK and for promoting British sport internationally.
UK Sport has agreed a national policy and strategy for the hosting
of major events with the support of the home country sports councils
and the endorsement of government. In this we coordinate the work
with the national governing bodies, cities and local authorities.
Examples have been provided in previous evidence but recent work
includes the Rugby World Cup and the bid for the 2008 European
Football Championships. This strategy includes the so-called "mega-events"
of the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Commonwealth Games and World
Championships in Athletics (WCA).
3. UK Sport has developed and continues
to refine a leading industry-based knowledge and understanding
of major events supported by its Major Events Steering Group,
comprising leading practitioners in the field. This experience
has been a key ingredient in the successful staging and delivery
of 44 events and 14 bidding exercises of World and European standard
since we assumed this role in 1998. As the Committee acknowledged
in its report in March 2001, this admirable record is sometimes
overshadowed by our failure to attract certain high profile events
such as the World Cup and the Olympics. The clarity of our responsibility
for these events has assisted greatly in their success with confirmed
funding and additional support services improving the quality
of delivery.
4. UK Sport believes that sports tourism
initiatives can have a huge positive impact on the numbers of
visitors to the UK as well as bringing significant commercial
benefits to the UK economy and to UK companies.
5. UK Sport has funded 11 economic impact
studies that all support this hypothesis, ranging from sports
such as boxing, show jumping, and cricket to athletics.
6. The impact sports tourism can have on
the economy is consistently significant given the number of high
profile sports events that take place in the UK, for example Henley,
Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix to name a few.
7. Additionally, many of Britain's top sports
events are broadcast around the world. Premiership and FA Cup
Football is our most valuable sporting export and millions of
people regularly watch British football around the world.
8. Some examples of globally recognised
British sporting events:
— Last year Wimbledon was watched in
157 countries worldwide;
— The FA Cup Final was watched by in
167 countries;
— The London Marathon was watched in
178 countries;
— This years Boat Race was watched
by 400 million people in 166 countries;
— And the Grand National has a global
audience of 500 million people in 160 countries.
9. The amount of free advertising for the
UK that sports events generate is enormous and should not be underestimated.
There is a positive association across the globe between the UK
and sport. This can only be used to our advantage in developing
and supporting the British sporting system as well as in marketing
the opportunities that are available in this country for tourists.
10. UK Sport works with the BTA and other
stakeholders in promoting the image of sporting Britain and also,
through the World Class Events Programme, to maximise the opportunities
available to the UK from hosting major sporting events. We do
this because it makes sense to have a joined up approach to sport
and sports tourism.
11. Across the world, the UK is arguably
regarded as the home of sport. It is a reputation, which, if managed
effectively, can benefit the nation socially, economically and
politically. Nations that are influential in international sport
are also those most likely to be successful in bidding for and
staging major sports events. And providing UK athletes with home
advantage in major international competitions is an important
part of the effort, being spearheaded by UK Sport, to produce
British world champions.
12. UK SPORT'S
RESPONSE TO
THE PARLIAMENTARY
CULTURE, MEDIA
AND SPORT
QUESTIONS ON
TOURISM
1. What is and the likely future of the British
Tourism industry, following foot-and-mouth disease and the events
in New York on September 11 2001?
Please note that the following responses are
made specifically in regard to the Sports Tourism Industry, and
are not necessarily applicable to other Tourism sectors.
Whilst Foot-and-Mouth Disease had a devastating
economic and social impact on rural communities, and generated
a considerable amount of (generally sympathetic, but scarcely
positive) international press coverage, the disease ultimately
had less than anticipated impact on Major Sporting Events in the
UK at the time, and is unlikely to affect either Major Events
or the growth of Sports Tourism in the future (unless there is
a recurrence of the disease).
As regards the events in New York (and Washington)
of September 11, the immediate global response may have had an
impact on airline profits and tourism figures globally in 2001-02,
but terrorism (more specifically, aircraft hijacking) is not a
new phenomenon, and international travel normally resumes previous
levels after terrorist incidents. Sports Tourism in the UK is
growing, and sports tourists' reasons for visiting the UK are
generally more purposive (in that they come for a specific event
or sporting experience in the UK) than other tourists (whose activities
are less country-specific) and is therefore unlikely to be seriously
affected in the long term unless terrorist organisations wage
a concerted campaign of international atrocities.
2. Does the Government have a role in supporting,
promoting and/or regulating the industry?
In principle, yes. The Government should give
very serious consideration to the positive effect on Tourism that
a Major Sporting Event such as the Olympic Games would have. A
great opportunity was lost when the 2005 World Athletics Championships
were withdrawn by the IAAF from the UK (after a successful bid
backed by UK Sport), because there was insufficient support for
the Picketts Lock project. A London Olympic Games would serve
as a global advertising campaign for the capital (and the country)
but would clearly rely on a well staged event with the necessary
quality infrastructure to deliver positive messages and images
around the world. This is the challenge to any bid coming forward
from London.
Nearly two million foreign visitors came to
Britain to watch or take an active part sport in 2001, spending
£1.3 billion (12 per cent of the total). Sports Tourism is
big business, and it is a growing business worldwide. For historical
reasons, the UK has a unique position in the world of sport, and
this part of our cultural heritage should be recognised for the
commercial benefits it brings to the UK, as well as the (unquantifiable)
"brand" promotion and recognition that takes place when
British sporting events are broadcast into people's homes around
the world.
3. What should that role be?
As far Sports Tourism is concerned, the Government
should acknowledge the contribution that sport makes to the positive
image of the UK abroad, and to the number of people visiting Britain
to "get closer to the action". Events such as the FIFA
World Cup demonstrated the popularity of English Football (through
the huge level of local support for the English players in Japan
and the global viewing figures for the matches involving England).
This support is perhaps less surprising when one considers that
FA Barclaycard Premiership football matches are broadcast to a
potential television audience of 1.3 billion people in over 150
countries. The global proliferation of participation and spectatorship
of Sport (particularly football, but also golf, tennis, cricket
and rugby) is analogous to the spread of English as a global lingua
franca—they are Britain's most successful exports, commercially
and culturally, and the Government should be doing its utmost
to capitalise on them.
The success of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth
Games, the 2002 Ryder Cup and annual "world-profile"
events such as Wimbledon, the Boat Race, The Grand National, the
FA Cup (not an exhaustive list) demonstrate that Britain regularly
hosts world class events with great success, and images of these
events are seen in people's sitting rooms all over the world.
This cannot help but enhance the prestige and image of the UK.
However, to successfully bid for a global event
such as the Olympic Games or the Football World Cup requires a
level of government support and commitment at least equal to the
other countries in the bidding race.
The sheer scale of an Olympic Games necessitates
huge infrastructure investment, and this can only be achieved
through large scale Public-Private Partnership Initiatives. The
Labour Party's manifesto pledged to support the hosting of Major
Events in the UK, but this was undermined with the Pickett's Lock
affair, and the lessons learned form this for a prospective Olympic
bid have been well rehearsed.
4. Do the current arrangements for supporting,
promoting and/or regulating the industry:
Meet the need adequately?
The support and promotion of Sports Tourism
by the BTA is excellent. As outlined in the answer to questions
2 and 3, the support for "Mega events" must come from
the highest echelons of government because of the cost, the complexity
and the need for coordination across government departments.
As regards the regulation of Sports Tourism,
UK Sport does not have sufficient data to comment.
Reflect the devolution settlement appropriately?
UK Sport works closely with the four Home Country
Sports Councils, but the splitting of responsibility for the hosting
of Major Events has provided a number of challenges and risks
the duplication of effort and unnecessary domestic competition.
Previous evidence has explained the decision
of government to divide responsibilities between UK Sport and
Sport England as it relates to the staging of the four biggest
sport events, which includes the World Athletics Championships.
This separation of responsibilities has undoubtedly contributed
to a lack of consistency, coordination and continuity, to the
extent that London, having won the right to host to the 2005 Championships
was unable to deliver a suitable stadium, and the IAAF decided
to award the games to Helsinki instead.
It is UK Sport's belief that there needs to
be one lead government agency for major events in order to allow
"joined up thinking" and ensure proper coordination
across the diverse demands of a large scale sporting event. Such
an agency should be a key stakeholder in their staging, both in
terms of the facility development and the organisational logistics.
If the government was to acknowledge one recognised agency, it
will need to have the ability to access or pull down appropriate
levels of funding. Bearing in mind the experience of the IAAF
contract we would also contend that it would need to be able to
sign contracts on behalf of the Government to provide the necessary
guarantees or underwriting to the international federation. Such
an agency needs to be supported by professionals who understand
the business of major events and are in a position to advise on
the best ways of capitalising on the potential events provide
to the country. It would not be appropriate in our view to take
this responsibility inside government.
Promote the quality of provision effectively?
The BTA and the Home Country Tourist Boards
provide a very high level of service, which one would hope increases
the quality of provision of sports tourism-related services, but
UK Sport cannot comment specifically on this.
Encourage productivity within the industry?
UK Sport does not have sufficient data to respond
to this question.
9 October 2002
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