The New Local Enterprise Partnerships

Memoranda submitted by the Tourism Alliance

1. Introduction

The Tourism Alliance was established in 2001 as the voice of the UK t ourism industry. It comprises 53 Tourism Industry Associations that together represent some 200,000 business of all sizes throughout the UK (see appendix 1) . The Tourism Alli ance’s mandate is to work with G overnment on issues relevant to the growth and development of tourism and its contribution to the economy. It is therefore responding to this inquiry in that capacity.

2. Background

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK. A recent report by Deloitte and Oxford Economics concluded that the total contribution that domestic and overseas visitors make to the UK economy i s currently £115 billion a year, which supports 2.63 million jobs – around 10% of the UK’s total workforce.

One of the key strengths of the UK tourism industry is that these economic and employment benefits are relatively evenly spread across all regions of England and the UK as a whole. Almost all regions receive more than £5bn per annum in tourism expenditure and employ over 100,000 in the sector. In addition, there is an almost 50:50 split between tourism expenditure in urban and rural areas with overseas visitors tending to travel to cities and domestic visitors tending to stay at rural and seaside destinations.

The importance of the industry to the recovery of the British economy was the focus a speech on tourism that the Prime Minister gave on 12 th August when he stated that "tourism is our third highest export earner behind chemicals and financial services" and "one of the best and fastest ways of generating the jobs we need so badly in this country". The central role of tourism in the UK’s economic recovery was reinforced by the setting of ambitious Government targets for both inbound and domestic tourism growth.

T he forthcoming 2012 Olympics, together with next year’s Champions’ Leagu e final at Wembley, t he Ru gby League World Cup in 2013, t h e Commonwealth Games in 2014, t h e Rugby Union World Cup in 2015 and, hopefully the Football World Cup in 2018 comprise a "decade of sport" that provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the UK both domestically and abroad. If we are able to get the structure and funding of tourism right, the benefits to national and regional economies will be substantial.

3. The Structure for Tourism Development in the UK

Tourism development and promotion in the UK is governed by the Tourism Development Act 1969, which is administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. This Act provide s for the establishment of a British Tourist Authority (VisitBritain) and Tourist Boards for England , Scotland and Wales and grants them responsibility for promoting the development of tour ism to and within Great Britain .

Within England , a series of nine Regional Tourist Boards were established. These organisations were membership based but with funding from local authorities and from the English Tourist Board in order to undertake national programmes such as quality assurance.

This structure remained in place until 2000 when the previous Government introduced the policy of devolution. Under this policy, the responsibility for tourism development in Scotland and Wales was transferred to, respectively, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly (responsibility for the English Tourist Board and British Tourist Authority remaining with Whitehall ).

At the same time, the statutory responsibility for tourism development at the regional level within England was devolved to the RDAs and the Mayor’s Office in London. DCMS funding for tourism development at the regional level was transferred to the BIS-controlled "single pot" as part of this arrangement. It is important to note that, while local authorities have an ability to undertake tourism development and promotion, there is no statutory authority or requirement for them to do so. As such, tourism development at the local authority level is patchy and is one of the first things to be cut when funding is reduced. This makes tourism funding through the RDAs particularly important.

The devolution of responsibility for tourism development to the RDAs has had a significant impact on regional tourism development. It is accepted that there have been problems associated with the uneven allocation of funding between the RDAs, the proportion applied to tourism, and difficulties co-ordinating national programmes between essentially competitive organisations. However, both the level of funding (now around £45m per annum) and regional commitment to tourism development have increased significantly as a result of the establishment of the RDAs.

Tourism has increasingly been recognised as being a vital component of regional economies and incorporated into regeneration and development plans. Most of the RDAs have also established a network of tourism support organisations within their region to bring together public and private sector tourism expertise, leverage private sector funding, and co-ordinate local development. This has been particularly important for both regional and national tourism development.

4. The Establishment of LEPs

The Government has announced the imminent abolition of RDAs and the establishment of LEPs. We have considerable concerns regarding the impact that the process of transition from RDAs to LEPs will have on the existing national tourism structure. If the new LEPs are not established in a coherent and coordinated manner, providing national coverage for tourism businesses, the future cohesion within the industry, and the implementation of national programmes for tourism development, including the new National Tourism Strategy for England, could be seriously compromised.

The timetable and process of winding-down the RDAs and significantly reducing their funding, is being implemented before the LEPs are established. As a result, it seems likely that some essential core tourism development tasks previously carried out via the RDAs will be terminated before the new arrangements are in place. There is also the concern that the LEPs will not have the national coverage nor the statutory responsibility to undertake these programmes once they are established.

At this time it is unclear as to whether the statutory responsibility for tourism development will be transferred from the RDAs to the LEPs, whether LEPs will provide the full national coverage required to implement the national tourism strategy and, if not, what Department or agency will be responsible for those areas not covered by LEPs.

There is a very real potential that a lot of the expertise that has been developed, and the advances that have been achieved over that last 10 years will be lost if LEPs are not established in a coherent and co-ordinated manner. We are also concerned that their interest in, and provision for, tourism will vary or they may choose not to pursue provision for tourism. T he Tourism Alliance has established the following set of key principl es that we believe will provide a coherent structure for future tourism development at the regional level (please note that the term "regional" in this submission means " below the level of national and above the level of local " – it does not necessarily mean conforming to existing RDA boundaries) .

4.1 Key Principles

1. There remains a need for LEPs to link, co-ordinate and provide some administrative cohesion for tourism development activity at the sub-national level .

2. There must be no "gaps" between LEPs . That is, if local authorities are required to form LEPs in order to participate in national tourism programmes and be eligible for funding , there must be a mechanism to ensure there are no "orphans" – all areas must be able to participate in national programmes .

3. For tourism development and marketing, LEPs should relate to recognisable area brands – with Local Authorities and the private sector working through tourism partnerships which would include existing, new and evolved tourism support organizations.

4. The Nationa l Tourism Strategy for England should be the principle basis for the allocati on of public funding. Tourism funding for national programmes consistent with the National Tourism Strategy should be allocated and controlled centrally through VisitEngland .

5. The status of recipient entities must b e defined to ensure they fulfill the requirements for state funding and comply with state aid rules. It is felt that a " draft constitution" should be developed to cover the essential elements, for compliance by all reci pients. This will facilitate administration, monitoring and evaluation of outcomes on all programmes.

6. It is important that LEPs should be cost-effective, minimizing bureaucracy and focusing on easing the flow of funding rather than be ing a drain upon it.

7. P ublic funding for tourism activities undertaken by the LEPs should be divided into two streams – funding for national in dustry-wide programmes such as q uality assurance, accessibility, marketing campaigns, maintaining an IT platform and sustainability.

8. Funding should be allocated on the basis of need and potential, and on the basis of encouraging public and private entities to come together and maximize added value.

9. ROI must remain a core criteria for investment by LEPs.

We also note that BIS is currently consulting on proposals to establish a Regional Growth Fund to encourage private sector enterprise by providing support for projects with significant potential for economic growth and create additional sustai nable private sector employment. The Tourism Alliance believes that this fund needs to be available for tourism development and promotional activities and co-ordinated with LEP tourism related initiatives. The fund also needs to be available for undertaking national tourism programmes in any areas that are not covered by LEPs so that these programmes have complete coverage.

5. Conclusion

Tourism is one of the UK’s largest industries and is an important component of the economy in all regions of England. The statutory responsibility for tourism development at the regional level was devolved to the RDAs in 2000 and, largely, they have all been committed to developing the tourism economy at their regional level over the last 10 years. To maintain national tourism programmes, this statutory responsibility needs to be transferred to the new LEPs.

Our request is, therefore, that the risks of dis-continuity of core tasks are recognised and that, following appropriate consultation, transitional arrangements are put in place to ensure that national programmes are maintained during and following the restructuring of the RDAs. This would avoid the high risk that expertise could be lost and programmes may be disrupted or cease, which would be to the great detriment of efforts to improve the quality of the English tourism offering and put the Government’s targets for domestic tourism growth and the potential benefits of the 2012 Olympics and the "decade of sport" in jeopardy.

Appendix 1: Tourism Alliance Member s

Association for Tourism in Higher Education

ABTA – The Travel Association

Association of Leading Visitor Attractions

Bed and Breakfast Association

British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers & Attractions

British Beer & Pub Association

British Educational Travel Association

British Hospitality Association

British Holiday & Home Parks Association

British Marine Federation

British Resorts and Destinations Association

Business In Sport and Leisure

Business Visits and Events Partnership

Camping and Caravanning Club

Confederation of British Industry

Confederation of Passenger Transport UK

Country Land and Business Association

Cumbria Tourism

Destination Performance UK

East of England Tourism

English Association of Self Catering Operators

English UK

European Tour Operators Association

Events Industry Alliance

Farm Stay UK

Guild of Registered Tourist Guides

Heart of England Tourist Board

Heritage Railway Association

Historic Houses Association

Historic Royal Palaces

Holiday Centres Association

Holiday Cottages Group

National Caravan Council

National Trust

New Forest Tourism Association

Outdoor Industries Association

South West Tourism

The Caravan Club

Tourism for All

Tourism Management Institute

Tourism Network North East

Tourism Society

Tourism South East

UKinbound

Visit London

VisitCornwall

Visitor Attractions Forum

Welcome to Yorkshire

Associate Members

Local Government Association

SouthWest RDA (representing the RDAs in England)

VisitBritain

VisitEngland