Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Minutes of Evidence


Memorandum submitted by BALPPA

INTRODUCTION

  1.  BALPPA is the leading trade association representing the UK's commercial piers, theme/amusement parks, attractions and zoos sector. We speak for some 300 members across the tourism industry and include leading UK attractions like Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Alton Towers, British Airways London Eye, Butlins, Colchester Zoo, Madame Tussauds, Thorpe Park and Woburn Safari Park among our members.

  2.  The BALPPA membership covers a wide range of leisure attractions across the UK. Whilst some members are large attractions, many of our members are small and often family run businesses that have operated for generations. No matter what the size, location or focus of individual BALPPA member operations, all have a keen interest in promoting UK tourism and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the industry in the UK.

  3.  BALPPA welcomes this inquiry and its objectives in the hope that its work will contribute to the continued success of the UK tourism industry and consider improvements that could make it even more successful. Our submission addresses the position occupied by our Members in the UK Visitor Attractions Sector.

  4.  We submit the following six points, each of which will be clarified later in the submission:

    (1)  The development and implementation of a UK tourism strategy spearheaded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and VisitBritain encompassing cross-government support.

    (2)  A refocus of the work carried out by the DCMS on behalf of the tourism industry to promote the industry as a strong and serious contributor to the UK economy.

    (3)  The appointment of a Tourism Minister at a level of responsibility which ensures the tourism industry is always suitably represented when issues likely to impact on the sector are considered.

    (4)  A review of a variety of taxation and financial support measures that are having or are likely to have a negative impact on UK tourism, particularly the private sector.

    (5)  Improved funding for tourism statistics that will provide a more accurate picture of the state of the industry for analysis and action.

    (6)  An introduction in the UK of Single/Double British Summer Time.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TOURISM STRATEGY

  5.  The reality of making the most of UK tourism and reaching the 2010 target of £100 billion has been jeopardised by a number of factors. Primarily, there is a lack of support and direction from the DCMS. The Department has been unable to keep up with developments in the UK tourism industry and help the industry to reposition itself in the changing political landscape. Despite two tourism strategies and twice restructuring VisitBritain, the Department has failed to develop a tourism structure that takes account of the devolution of the responsibility for tourism to the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament, as well as the regional development agencies within England.

  6.  A strategy which recognises the current lack of coordination between RDA's and RDP's and provides clear guidance on maximising tourism opportunities will receive support across all sectors of tourism.

REFOCUS THE ROLE OF DCMS IN TOURISM

  7.  The DCMS tends to focus its activity with regards to tourism on the social and cultural aspects of the UK tourism industry, and whilst these are important aspects of tourism, the industry should also be viewed as a business activity that makes a serious contribution to the UK economy. Part of the problem is that there are resource issues within the tourism directorate of the Department. Current staffing levels do not reflect the important role the DCMS should be playing in coordinating the contribution of Tourism to UK plc. Only 18 full time staff, many of whom are allocated to duties not directly related to tourism, are expected to maintain effective liaison, support, direct and positively influence the efforts of the industry.

  8.  The DCMS appears to carry less weight within government than some of the other departments and therefore seems unable to spearhead joined up thinking across government, for example with the DCLG or DWP for issues relating to tourism and has failed to keep up with the challenging environment in which UK tourism is operating.

  9.  The combination of poor understanding of the industry (due to insufficient resource within DCMS) and across government as a whole, along with an increasingly devolved approach to tourism means that a significant central resource to implementing UK wide tourism strategies has not been allocated in recent years but is essential to maintaining a healthy UK tourism industry. The devolution of responsibility and resources for tourism to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly alongside regional responsibility for tourism in England to the RDAs has changed the face of tourism in the UK. This has led to overlaps and competition between the various organisations, with little coordination between them on national programmes and initiatives that will impact the UK industry as a whole. This theme is repeated when one looks at the role and funding for VisitBritain alongside Visit Wales and Visit Scotland.

  10.  Despite the limited financial resources available to it, VisitBritain has continued to promote the UK to inbound tourists and England to domestic tourists very well. With a budget which in real terms is circa 17% less than that allocated nine years ago, it has performed reasonably well under severe difficulties. Expecting such performance to continue without suitably increased financial support is likely to result in the loss of influence and talent.

  11.  BALPPA is concerned that the current spending round will result in a further reduction of financial resource when what is required is an attempt to close the ever increasing gap between resources allocated to Tourism and those allocated to Art, Sport and Culture.

APPOINTMENT OF A TOURISM MINISTER

  12.  The industry considers itself under represented within government with the consequences of inadequate funding, a low profile in Parliament and insufficient representation on issues which whilst not directly related to tourism, could and frequently do have a negative effect on the industry.

  13.  The appointment of a dedicated Minister for Tourism at senior level will address these issues and ensure that Tourism receives the support deserving of a £84 billion industry.

EFFECT OF CURRENT TAX REGIME AND PROPOSALS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING ON TOURISM INDUSTRY COMPETITIVENESS

  14.  BALPPA believes that the tourism industry is under-resourced and that there are an increasing number of financial constraints that are causing problems for the private attractions sector in particular. If there is no change in the situation, the privately operated tourism sector will continue to suffer. Outlined below are a number of areas where BALPPA has concerns about the effects of the current tax regime and future proposals for local government funding in the UK on tourism industry competitiveness, but also a number of areas that BALPPA has identified where government could provide assistance to the industry.

  15.  (a)  A key BALPPA concern is that the UK tourist attractions continue to operate on an unlevel playing field compared with many of their European counterparts. We believe that the UK tourism market is not given enough support to compete with our European neighbours, in particular France and Spain, which are seen as prominent European tourism destinations. In order to strengthen the UK market and make it more competitive, a reduction in VAT on admission income to 5.5% would allow greater pricing flexibility. As clearly illustrated in the BTA Study on VAT (1995) such a shift would be tax positive as it would result in increased visitor numbers.

  16.  (b)  BALPPA also has concerns regarding the introduction of wider road user charging schemes, whether regional or national. Visitors to many of the UK's attractions journey by car. Firstly, visitors are often in family or friendship groups that fully utilise car capacity and an equivalent trip by public transport would be prohibited by cost. Secondly, the public transport network in the UK, outside of London, is not sufficient to allow visitors to make a reliable journey that will take them directly to their destination. BALPPA is concerned that any scheme introduced without providing adequate increased public transport provision or that will penalise visitors to attractions despite their cars being used to full capacity will deter visitors from attractions—another potential blow for UK tourism.

  17.  (c)  A further imbalance is created for the private sector when one considers that National Lottery grants and subsidies are available to publicly and charitably funded attractions but in essence not to private sector organisations such as our members. BALPPA would like privately run attractions that are important to the UK's heritage or are of environmental or education value to be able to successfully apply for funding that can support their schemes. At the current time, whilst our members are able to apply for funding under the allocated criteria, none have been successful in securing monies and many have been discouraged from even applying.

  18.  BALPPA is keen to highlight that all attractions, whether privately or publicly funded, are experiencing a tough operating environment. Much public money has been wasted on public attractions of educational and conservational nature that have now closed because they were poorly thought out in the first place, and which would not have passed the stage of initial study in the private sector. BALPPA believes that all those who act as custodians of the nation's heritage or whose attractions have environmental and educational value deserve equal access to funding, irrespective of which sector they operate.

  19.  (d)  A key sector of the UK tourism industry and of the BALPPA membership operates and maintains the UK's seaside piers. These unique and important features of our traditional seaside towns are notoriously difficult and expensive structures to maintain, and BALPPA is seeking assistance in preserving and securing a sustainable future for these historic and important buildings. Given that our members who own piers do not have access to Lottery Funding, BALPPA is urging government to assist the piers by reviewing their liability to pay business rates. We have undertaken research to show the cost of exempting piers from business rates would come to only £1.7 million per year. Whilst such a figure would not even register in the Treasury Balance Sheet, it would prove considerably beneficial in assisting in the maintenance of our Piers.

  20.  Piers, along with many other coastal amusement businesses are facing considerable increase in the cost of operating licensed family entertainment centres as a consequence of the Gambling Act 2005. We are hopeful that the existing experience of the Local Authorities in relation to the responsible manner in which our Members operate their businesses will be reflected in their consideration and cost of Premises Licence applications required under the new Act.

  21.  (e)  BALPPA is seeking for the Government to grant capital allowances on a wider range of categories that would apply to tourist attractions. For example, at the current time, there is an allowance for plant & machinery that will involve rides at theme parks but it is the wider range of buildings and infrastructure which provide essential visitor facilities that are necessary to run a tourism attraction that can cost thousands of pounds but where no allowance is made for the depreciation over time and the likelihood of renewal or maintenance in the future.

  22.  (f)  On a local level, whilst we are still awaiting the publication of the Lyon's Review into local government funding, BALPPA and the wider UK tourism industry is nervous of the suggestion that there may be an optional "bed tax" for local authorities to adopt if they wish and we would like to convey the serious impact that this any such tax would have on the industry, with no guarantee that funds raised would be ring-fenced and used by local government to assist tourism in the local authority area.

TOURISM DATA TO INFORM GOVERNMENT POLICY

  23.  Current government statistics are not sufficient given the size and economic contribution of the tourism industry in the UK. Once again, this approach leads BALPPA to believe that the industry is not taken seriously by government. The continued lack of funding for tourism allocated by the DCMS is a concern; however there is also insufficient funding in other government departments that represent tourism interests including the Office for National Statistics. Improvements here would allow the ONS to gather the key statistics required to monitor, analyse and improve the industry by creating solutions based on a more up to date and informed view.

THE PRACTICALITY OF PROMOTING MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY FORMS OF TOURISM

  24.  BALPPA has been a long time supporter of the introduction of Double British Summer Time which would see our clocks moved forward by two hours (GMT +2) in the Summer months and one hour (GMT +1) in the Winter months, thereby allowing extra hours of usable daylight. The last two parliamentary sessions have seen private Members Bills to introduce a change sponsored by Lord Tanlaw, David Kidney MP and most recently Tim Yeo MP. A strong coalition of organisations, from across a range of policy areas, has formed to support at the least an experimental period. The coalition includes BALPPA, NAHT, AA, PACTS, RoSPA, the Tourism Alliance and LARSOA.

  25.  There are strong benefits to be gained from the adoption of DBST, which include:

    —  A huge boost for tourism worth up to £2 billion per annum.

    —  Energy savings—170,000 tonnes of carbon emissions would be cut.

    —  Safer roads—safety surveys calculate fatalities would drop by more than 100 and other casualties by more than 400. A fact not disputed by the Transport Minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman MP.

    —  Longer hours of outdoor play for children, potentially reducing child obesity.

    —  Safer streets—most street crime occurs when it is dark.

    —  Extra time to train for and enjoy the Olympic Games in 2012.

A UK TOURISM STRATEGY AND LONDON 2012 GAMES

  26.  On the back of the Welcome>Legacy consultation concluded by the DCMS recently, a national tourism strategy should be developed that will allow the opportunity presented by the Olympics in 2012 to be fully utilised by not only London tourist attractions, but attractions around the UK. Any such strategy should by adequately financed and have a clear owner and leader to coordinate activity at a national, regional and local tourism level. This will create the right situation for tourism to thrive in the modern social, economic and political environment.

  BALPPA would welcome the opportunity to present verbal evidence in support of this submission.

March 2007





 
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