Memorandum submitted by the Tourism Management
Institute (TMI)
1. THE TOURISM
MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE
(TMI)
1.1 The Tourism Management Institute (TMI)
is the professional body for destination managers. Its 350 members
are in the main practising tourism destination managers in national,
regional, sub regional and local tourism and destination management
organisations, from VisitBritain to local authority tourism teams.
Affiliate members include a number of higher education tourism
and destination departments, and suppliers of services to destination
management. Further details about TMI can be found on the Institute's
web site, www.tmi.org.uk
1.2 This memorandum has been specifically
prepared for the Select Committee Inquiry following e-mail consultation
of our members. Responses were received from members in Regional
Development Agency tourism teams, local authority tourism officers
and consultants from a range of destinations across England, Wales
and Scotland. It considers each of the issues on which the Committee
requested evidence. Members' responses are summarised below.
2. THE CHALLENGES
AND OPPORTUNITIES
FOR THE
DOMESTIC AND
INBOUND TOURISM
INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING
CHEAP FLIGHTS
ABROAD, AND
THEIR IMPACT
ON TRADITIONAL
TOURIST RESORTS
Challenges
2.1 TMI members believe that the main challenges
confronting the UK's tourism industry concern competitiveness
and product quality. Competition will become increasingly fierce
in the coming years from an increasing number of alternative lower
cost destinations that are perceived as offering a better experience
in terms of interest and quality. It will also come from alternative
demands on peoples' increasingly limited free time.
2.2 Many of the factors that have traditionally
been held up as securing tourism's long-term growth have been
challenged in recent years.
2.3 Increased leisure time by the move towards
more pressured lifestyles, longer working weeks and later retirement.
2.4 Increased affluence, particularly in
retirement, by the increasing number of people living longer but
without adequate pension provision and facing spiralling fixed
home costs.
2.5 Increased wish to travel by the growth
of other forms of interest and status and increasing awareness
of the environmental harm caused by many forms of transport.
2.6 Increased safety as the world becomes
a smaller place by the perceived growth in global terrorism.
2.7 Increased ease of travel by greater
congestion particularly in developed countries.
Specific challenges include:
2.8 Cheap flights continue to undermine
the ability of the UK to market itself as a competitive destination
for short breaks, to UK residents.
2.9 The already high cost railway and road
system being exacerbated by the possibility of road pricing being
introduced on motorways and major highways. Will this lead to
a clogging of the secondary road system?
2.10 The UK's reliance on a light touch
regulated product offer in accommodation, restaurants and attractions
meaning that many sub-standard businesses continue to trade.
2.11 The continued decline of towns dependent
on traditional leisure markets.
2.12 The potential decline of towns and
cities dependent on retail as increasingly low margins and the
move towards web based shopping lead to clone high streets and
the inexorable rise of out of town malls.
Opportunities
2.13 Cheaper inter-city rail travel would
help to encourage UK residents to take rail breaks in the UK rather
than be seduced into flying abroad through cheap pricing.
2.14 There is scope for VisitBritain and
gateway destinations in the UK to use the low cost carriers to
more effectively generate inbound tourism. This will need a strong
local need but core support from the national level.
2.15 More traditional resorts need to embrace
their distinctiveness and local culture and harness the energy
from the many artists and creative businesses which have chosen
to locate to seaside towns in recent years. Brighton and Whitstable
are two good examples of destinations re-emerging through the
celebration of local creative energy.
2.16 Traditional resorts will also need
to embrace one the most potent and sustainable trends in global
tourism—people travelling for well-being and "self-fulfilment"
to places where they can relax, get healthy and escape the stresses
of modern life. There is no better place than the seaside to detox
from the world.
2.17 VisitBritain should be identifying
the "emerging" destinations more and pushing marketing
resource around these rather than just towards the honey-pots.
This will allow tourism to grow and thrive rather than become
stagnant around the same messages and destinations.
2.18 The need to continue to learn lessons
from abroad—in terms of marketing panache, destination development
and improving public transport.
2.19 The completion of the Cross Channel
rail link and expansion of Eurostar services across the country
from 2008 will be a great opportunity for linking core city destinations
through rail itineraries and rail holidays—an underdeveloped
area compared to other major destinations in Europe.
2.20 Though it makes sense to retain traditional
images and messages to emerging markets in Asia and Eastern Europe,
more mature markets (US, Western Europe) need to be supplied with
fresh images and ideas. The Spanish lead with "passion",
the Irish with "charm". Perhaps the British (and certainly
the English) should lead with humour and creativity.
3. THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF DCMS AND
ITS SPONSORED
BODIES (SUCH
AS VISITBRITAIN)
IN SUPPORTING
THE INDUSTRY
3.1 TMI members feel that the tourism reform
programme initiated by this Government has had mixed results.
3.2 We acknowledge that VisitBritain is
doing an effective job at marketing Britain overseas. However,
the abolition of the English Tourism Council and the devolution
of responsibility and funding to the Regional Development Agencies
has left a strategic gap at a national level for tourism policy
and development. VisitBritain has struggled to manage and drive
forward the quality, tourism statistics and tourist information
agendas because we feel that it has had difficulty in diverting
focus, attention and resources from its strategic marketing remit.
3.3 However, we do feel that VisitBritain
could do more to support destinations in their promotional activities.
The requirement for VisitBritain to develop its income generation
levels results can result in it competing with destinations for
industry marketing spend. There is a feeling from our members
that there are opportunities for VisitBritain to help destinations
promote their websites (for example) at no-cost, rather than only
promoting product that has bought into (often costly) specific
campaigns.
3.4 The ability of DCMS to "champion"
and advocate the importance of tourism at a national level is
weak. Tourism is a minor player within DCMS and without the benefit
of a tourism minister the voice of the industry within government
is limited. Since 1997 DCMS has diverted funding towards Sport
England (114% increase) and the Arts Council (111%) and away from
VisitBritain (9%). Taking into account inflation, this has resulted
in a 17% decrease in funding for VisitBritain, in real terms.
3.5 The DCMS "tourism team" appear
to be fully consumed with licensing and London 2012, leaving little
opportunity to develop a better understanding of the issues facing
the tourism industry and how they can support them. This has resulted
in a feeling by TMI members that DCMS has done little to help
local authorities and destinations retain their commitment to
tourism services.
3.6 The links between tourism and other
elements of the DCMS portfolio (culture and sport) are important.
But they are no more important (and indeed arguably less important)
than the links with the local authority's place-shaping agenda
(DCLG), with improving training and skills in the industry (DFES),
with delivering high value exports and inward investment (DTI),
and with environmental and rural conservation issues (DEFRA).
TMI members feel that either DCMS should begin to take seriously
its role as the champions for tourism as an industry or the responsibility
should be passed to the Department for Trade and Industry.
4. THE STRUCTURE
AND FUNDING
OF SPONSORED
BODIES IN
THE TOURISM
SECTOR, AND
THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF THAT
STRUCTURE IN
PROMOTING THE
UK BOTH AS
A WHOLE
AND IN
ITS COMPONENT
PARTS
4.1 This question focuses primarily on "promotional
effectiveness", however, it needs to also cover tourism development,
quality and skills issues, as these are also fundamental to a
thriving tourism industry. A poor product will not sell, however
much money is thrown at promotion.
4.2 The support structure for tourism has
undergone massive change since the strategic lead for tourism
in England was given to the Regional Development Agencies in 2003.
TMI members understand that this was aimed at mainstreaming tourism
within economic development activity; encouraging greater private
sector involvement and reducing local authority tourism duplication
and overlap through the formation of public/private sector partnership
Destination Management Organisations; and providing greater marketing
resources for overseas promotion.
4.3 All nine regions have developed different
models to seek to meet these objectives. This has caused significant
upheaval for TMI members; a great many of whom have had major
changes to their roles and/or employers in the last four years.
RDA leadership and support for tourism development has been much
stronger in some regions than others. TMI members in the North
and Midlands are more likely to feel that the change has been
positive as central government has diverted funding to regions
with higher levels of deprivation. Where Destination Management
Organisations (DMOs) are receiving strong support from the RDAs
there is optimism and members have positive expectations for future
improvements. However, this will be contingent on maintenance
of expenditure on tourism by all parties (DCMS, RDAs and local
authorities). The implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review
could therefore be dramatic and it is unlikely that the private
sector will be able to make-up any funding shortfall within newly
created DMOs.
4.4 However, the new structures did result
in the creation of geographical regions that do not make any sense
to the consumer. This has in some cases led to a shift from the
promotion of small local authorities as destinations that have
no "brand recognition" to the promotion of whole regions
that don't either. Marketing activity is still too often led by
the narcissistic aspirations of the funding organisations rather
than focussing on generating consumer interest in recognised destinations
or products. Although, we do recognise that there has recently
been movement in some regions towards addressing this problem
and support this development.
4.5 There is also a feeling that there is
still a gap at a national level for promoting England to the domestic
market and that the current England Marketing Advisory Board should
be evolved to include representatives from local government, the
regions and the private sector into a more effective stakeholder
body.
4.6 However, whilst all these major changes
have taken place, DCMS has given the appearance of being neutral
to the changes. Far from leading the agenda, it has struggled
to keep up and has issued no guidance to the RDAs about best practice
or key improvement measures. We are left asking "why does
the responsibility for tourism remain with DCMS when regionally
it sits with RDAs that have an economic development role?"
4.7 The biggest impact of the changes has
been for the local authorities who have sometimes felt as the
"whipping boys', held responsible for all the mistakes of
the past. In fact, they have often been the only consistent source
of public sector investment in tourism for the last 40 years.
None the less, most local authorities do recognise the need for
them to review their role in tourism and this is being fostered
by working being done through Partners 4 England and through the
Lyons Enquiry. This is leading to a greater understanding and
recognition of the local authorities' vital and unique place-shaping
role.
5. THE EFFECT
OF THE
CURRENT TAX
REGIME (INCLUDING
VAT AND AIR
PASSENGER DUTY)
AND PROPOSALS
FOR LOCAL
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
(INCLUDING THE
"BED TAX")
UPON THE
INDUSTRY'S
COMPETITIVENESS
5.1 As outlined in 2.1 the UK is known to
be expensive and it doesn't compensate for that with quality,
distinctiveness or value for money—unlike Italy which is
expensive but offers that extra va va voom! So existing and additional
taxes will always be a "hold back" during the decision-making
process (domestic and overseas).
5.2 While TMI members recognise that additional
funds to support UK tourism need to be sourced somewhere the problem
with suggestions such as changes to APD and the introduction of
bed tax is fundamentally that they are skewed towards certain
customers and that there is no guarantee that new funds generated
would be re-allocated towards the purpose given for its collection.
Tourism interests have highlighted the amount of income generated
for the exchequer by VAT payments from visitors for many years
yet only a tiny fraction of this has been invested by successive
governments in measures designed to grow the market although this
would of course lead in turn to increased receipts.
5.3 TMI members are widely opposed to bed
tax for the reasons articulated by the Tourism Alliance and the
points made above: research by Nottingham University shows that
a 1% rise in prices relative to other countries leads to a 1%
decrease in international tourism; research by VisitBritain has
given a higher (1.4:1) loss ratio for international tourism.
5.4 However they have particularly identified
the unfairness of bed tax concentrating new income generation
on the sector of the industry, accommodation providers, who already
contribute most to effective marketing partnerships with destination
organisations.
5.5 Many TMI members recognise the value
in having an element of the taxation burden for the provision
of local services used by and marketed to visitors paid by visitors
rather than wholly by local tax-payers through Council Tax and
Business Rates. They recognise that in many parts of the world
an element of local taxation is added to each local sale because
they see it on sales receipts often with an explanation of how
the funding has been hypothecated. Whilst a local sales tax in
the UK would create its own problems, not least in driving up
costs, it would have the benefit of being applicable to all sectors
and would have the potential to be transparently used in support
of local service delivery.
6. WHAT DATA
ON TOURISM
WOULD USEFULLY
INFORM GOVERNMENT
POLICY
6.1 The inability of DCMS to implement the
findings of the Allnutt Review of Tourism Statistics has been
very disappointing. However, we feel that this may well have been
a result of devolving far too much responsibility to the regions
and not retaining the ability at a national level through its
own powers or that of its sponsored agencies to implement initiatives
that would benefit the national tourism industry.
6.2 The perennial problem with tourism statistics
has been their failure to be collected in a means that will allow
them to be mainstreamed into the data sets used by national, regional
and local agencies to measure economic performance and social
impact and help set strategy. This reflects both a failure and
a suspected lack of will to come to terms with the dynamics of
an industry that doesn't fit existing economic models because
it is defined by the users of goods or services rather than by
their suppliers.
6.3 Work by Allnutt, by regional development
agencies and some local authorities has attempted to address the
issue and is leading to some improved data in some areas but the
lack of national leadership means it remains fragmented.
6.4 TMI members are sure that once a recognised
and efficient means of assessing tourism's impact on the national
and local export economy is developed the value and return on
investment it provides will be greatly enhanced and ultimately
its efficiency will be greatly increased.
7. THE PRACTICALITY
OF PROMOTING
MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY FORMS
OF TOURISM
7.1 TMI has long been a strong advocate
of mainstreaming sustainable tourism principles into destination
planning and advocates the VICE model whereby equal consideration
is given to the needs of Visitors, the Industry, the local Community
and the Environment.
7.2 The Institute supports the findings
of the conference Towards Sustainability in English Tourism supported
by DCMS, VistBritain, South West Tourism, New Forest District
Council and Tourism South East which took place on 1 November
2006.
7.3 This found that the sustainable business
model that has been developed and piloted in the New Forest should
to be utilised by the private sector and adapted for destination
managers to utilise to assist businesses and promote sustainability
and good practice.
7.4 The model will be supported by a good
practice and learning model accessible through a web site www.susdestinations.co.uk
which will itself be linked to a new online tourism management
resource being developed by TMI with VisitBritain.
8. HOW TO
DERIVE MAXIMUM
BENEFIT FOR
THE INDUSTRY
FROM THE
LONDON 2012 GAMES
8.1 TMI has already submitted full responses
to the Select Committee Inquiry and Government consultation on
this issue. These can be found on the notice board section of
www.tmi.org.uk.
8.2 TMI members greatly welcomed London
being chosen as the venue for the 2012 games. However a lot of
the goodwill is being lost because of the way things have been
handled since then. In particular, it has been suggested that
the money to be spent on the Games will more than compensate for
any future reduction in DCMS financial support for VisitBritain.
This is a real concern, especially outside London.
8.3 It will be crucial to promote other
parts of Britain and not allow the benefit to be purely concentrated
in London. It is estimated that 40% of visitors to the Games will
stay outside London. Visitors should thus be encouraged to visit
areas outside London when not at spectator events themselves.
Could incentives be introduced to encourage visitors to locate
outside of London and travel in for events?
8.4 Clearly, there is a need to invest in
promotion and marketing in the lead up to the Games. This was
patently lacking in Greece in the run-up years and the Olympics
failed to have the sustained impact on tourism to Greece which
it could have.
8.5 The Olympics are an opportunity for
the English/British character to shine through the tourism marketing.
We need to showcase the inherent eccentricity of our country—its
quirkiness and humour.
8.6 It is Important to encourage inbound
visits to be long stay—ie don't just come for the Games
but spend your summer holiday in the UK.
8.7 It is equally important to capture details
of who comes, both for research purposes and post-2012 marketing.
8.8 It will be crucial for the transport
system in London to work well during the Olympics. Any major transport
problems could be highly damaging to our reputation as a global
tourism destination.
8.9 Communication and packaging of tickets,
hotels and transport are all important with a need for transparency
of pricing and availability. This packaging should readily combine
a visit to an event or two at the Games to a visit to another
part of the country.
8.10 Improving quality standards, tourism
statistics and improved international marketing are all vital
to the future competitiveness of the industry. They are important
things to get right for the Olympics but—more importantly—they
are issues that must be tackled now, irrespective of whether there
are going to be three weeks of sporting activities in 5 years
time.
8.11 The Olympics gives Britain a unique
opportunity to present itself as a "happening" country
with an events-led marketing strategy over several years and involving
many parts of the UK. The Olympics would then be seen as one of
the jewels in the crown of a well-supported national strategy,
rather than the isolated event it is currently being positioned
as.
8.12 A major event that could kick off the
new national strategy is Liverpool, European City of Culture in
2008. Another key opportunity to celebrate Britain's rich cultural
heritage is the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth, which
falls in 2012.
8.13 TMI has already expressed its concern
about the Olympics so dominating the tourism agenda in 2012 that
other potential visitors will be discouraged from visiting and
this could cause major problems in the rest of the country. There
is as yet no evidence that this point is being addressed in the
national Olympics strategy.
March 2007
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