Memorandum submitted by Business In Sport
and Leisure Limited (BISL)
INTRODUCTION
Business In Sport and Leisure (BISL) is an umbrella
organisation which represents around 110 private sector companies
in the sport and leisure industry. Our members include many of
the major operators of commercial sport, leisure, hospitality
and tourism in the UK and many consultants who specialise in this
field. Members of BISL listed on the London Stock Exchange have
a combined market capitalisation in the region of £40 billion.
BISL is a member of the Tourism Alliance. Brigid
Simmonds the chief executive, was the immediate past Chairman
of the Tourism Alliance and chaired a small working group with
DCLG to advice on the Good Practice Guide on Planning for Tourism
which was published in July 2006. This replaced PPG 21 (Tourism).
Brigid Simmonds has also chaired two, one day sessions, at Partners
for England events on "tourism statistics".
THE CHALLENGE
AND OPPORTUNITIES
The UK has a major Balance of Payment deficit.
In 2005 the overall total was £46 billion of which tourism
was £18 billion or 40% of the deficit. There is a real challenge
in the UK to reduce this deficit by encouraging more overseas
visitors to the UK and enhancing and improving our domestic tourism
offer for UK citizens who want to take holidays in this country.
The marketing strategy for 2012 and tourism is a vital tool if
we are to make progress. It offers an opportunity to market to
200 countries who will be sending athletes to the UK, instead
of the traditional 36 countries who are the subject of VisitBritain
marketing at present. It also offers the opportunities to attract
visitors to go outside London (more visitors come to London to
start their holiday than any other European capital). Many more
of our overseas visitors need to be encouraged to visit places
outside London like the Yorkshire Dales, our National Parks etc.
THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF DCMS AND
ITS SPONSORED
BODIES
Within the resources offered to it, DCMS does
its best to promote tourism throughout Government. They were extremely
supportive when DCLG produced their first and unworkable draft
of a Good Practice guide on Planning on Tourism and played their
part in ensuring the industry needs were recognised in the final
document. They now have a project to promote the Guidance to Government
Offices in the regions and local authority planning departments.
There is however, a lack of joined up government
which is endemic across Whitehall which leaves DCMS at times a
very lone voice on issues on tourism. Initially DCLG claimed that
it was "not their job to promote tourism" while producing
the Good Practice Guide. When visa charges were increased dramatically
in 2005, DCMS were not even consulted. In the last month, the
Security Industry Authority (SI), responsible to the Home Office
has increased fees for Door Supervisors (bouncers) by 29% without
any consultation at all. Perhaps the worst and most recent example
has been the complete failure of DCLG to give any help to tourism
businesses looking to build outdoor shelters for smokers and have
them available when the smoking ban in England comes into force
on 1 July 2007. DCLG completely refused to give any guidance or
indeed include any information in regular circulars to local authorities
on the likely increase of applications for planning permission
for outside shelters, on the grounds that this policy belonged
to the Department of Health and not to DCLG. Too often other Government
Departments make policy changes which affect our tourism sector
without any thought or contact with tourism businesses. When tourism
makes a contribution of £74 billion to the UK economy, this
is unacceptable.
VisitBritain too has been a key supporter of
tourism, but as BISL concentrates more on domestic tourism, rather
than issues to do with overseas tourism, the demise of a policy
team at VisitBritain with the abolition of the English Tourist
Board has left a policy vacuum. This has been further complicated
by the devolution of tourism to Scotland and Wales and the RDAs.
THE STRUCTURE
AND FUNDING
OF SPONSORED
BODIES
BISL would support the call from the Tourism
Alliance, the British Hospitality Association and others for a
review of the Tourism Act 1969. We do believe that this must be
reviewed in the light of devolution and the considerable funding
being made available by the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly
for the promotion of Scotland and Wales. Devolution within England
to RDAs has further complicated the picture and is creating a
loss of identity for England as a whole.
THE EFFECT
OF THE
CURRENT TAX
REGIME
BISL supports the work presented by the Tourism
Alliance on tax and in particular, opposes the bed tax. Any voluntary
arrangement which allowed some local authorities to charge a tax
and some not to charge it, would be a disaster for tourists in
different parts of the country. As the BHA points out, VAT on
a 5% bed tax would make the UK more expensive than any other country
in Europe except Denmark. It would double the hotel sector's contribution
to local authorities and would be detrimental to domestic and
oversees tourists.
DATA
As explained in the introduction, groups of
local authority representatives and representatives from the tourist
industry as a whole have met to discuss data over two days at
Partner for England meetings last year. Both sessions came to
similar conclusions that acknowledged that much of the data collection
was being undertaken, but that it remained in silos within the
public, private and voluntary sectors.
BISL believes that that there must be a tourism
unit dedicated to the collection of statistical data. The cost
is not high as the data is available, but without some national
co-ordination, information available is patchy and not useful
enough to convince Government of the need to support our sector.
A small task force is needed to look at what
is available and to cost ideas. There is a need for a Tourism
Analysis Unit which is probably best placed in DCMS which builds
on information already collected and available.
HOW TO
DERIVE MAXIMUM
BENEFIT FROM
LONDON 2012
BISL is probably unique in tourism in that its
work spans tourism and sport. What is absolutely certain is that
if we are to take advantage of a true tourism legacy from the
2012 Games the success will be in the preparation. We must be
ready post Beijing in 2008 to welcome visitors attracted by an
Olympic city, encourage them to spread their wings beyond London
and want to return in future years.
Added to visitors who go to Olympic cities before
a games takes place, are the Olympic teams who will want to come
and work on their preparations. It is vital that the tourism and
sports divisions of DCMS work in harmony to ensure that these
visitors also become part of our tourism legacy. There are many
contacts within UK Sport and Sport England who they can work with,
along with the more obvious contacts at LOCOG who are likely to
be distracted by the huge task of putting on the Games themselves.
BISL is represented on the Ministerial Group
preparing the London 2012 Tourism Strategy. We believe that a
top down strategy with a central marketing campaign which offers
a peg on which to hang the desires of Government in relation to
industry is the way forward. Yes, improvement in skills is a
key priority and we are working with People First to achieve this.
We also support the Sports Leaders UK work with LOCOG on training
for volunteers. It is important that Government insist that all
public organisations funded by them use quality assured accommodation.
Industry is likely to achieve an 80% graded target by bed space
and pitch by 2012, so this is achievable. Understanding and improving
access for people with disabilities is another key plank of a
strategy. The 2012 Tourism Charter is important in promoting the
games to the wider industry and could be enhanced. BISL very much
supports the work of VisitBritain and UK Sport in looking at 1,000
sporting events running up to the Olympics which could be held
in the UK.
IN CONCLUSION
Business In Sport and Leisure hopes that this
submission is useful to the Committee. We would be delighted to
be called to give oral evidence if required.
March 2007
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