Written evidence from the Hoseasons Group
(TE 42)
INTRODUCTION
1.0 The Hoseasons Group is the award-winning
travel company that was established some 70 years ago. Over 1
million people in the UK take holidays through Hoseasons, the
leading self catering agency in the UK. It offers holidays in
rural cottages, city centre apartments, villas, caravan parks
and boats through its brands such as Hoseasons, English Country
Cottages, Welcome Cottages and Blakes.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
2.0 Tourism is generally agreed to be the UK's
fifth largest industry. A recent study by Deloitte and Oxford
Economics, The Economic Contribution of the Visitor Economy,
found that the total direct and indirect contribution of tourism
to the UK economy in 2009 was £115 billion (8.9% of
GDP) and that the tourism sector directly employs over 1.3 million
people.
2.1 The study went on to state that total tourism
spending in the UK economy in 2009 was £90 billion,
with overnight domestic tourism accounting for £22 billion
of this amount. This was an increase of £1 billion
(4%) over the previous year. However, it is notable that the performance
of the self-catering sector of the tourism industry far exceeded
the growth rate for the sector with growth of 21% and amounted
to a total of some £1.8 billion. There are a number
of reasons for this strong performance including the high levels
of investment in the sector over recent years, improvements in
the quality of self-catering properties and shifting patterns
in consumer expenditure on holidays in the UK.
2.2 What this means is that rural and seaside
communities, where the vast majority of self- catering businesses
are located, gained an additional £375 million which
helped retain and increase employment in these areas. Using the
calculations in the Deloitte and Oxford Economic study, this
additional revenue is sufficient to increase employment in these
areas by 7,500 full time equivalent positions.
TOURISM AND
TRAVEL
3.0 The most recent UK Tourism Survey shows that
around 70% of tourism travel is from urban to rural and seaside
destinations. Due to the nature of this travel, private vehicles
account for 74% of all tourism trips, with only 21% of trips
being undertaken using public transport (4% of which is by air).
The figures are very similar for day visitor travel, with 68%
of trips being undertaken using private vehicles and only 15%
being undertaken using public transport other than aviation.
3.1 Over the last 50 years, tourism-related travel
in the UK has changed markedly. Up until the late 1950s, public
transport was the main means by which domestic tourism was undertaken.
Since then, the use of private vehicles has steadily dominated
to the extent that they now comprise over 70% of all leisure
travel. Although this figure has been stable over the last
20 years, the total number of trips during this period has increased
by over 60%. This increase in private vehicle use has brought
great benefits to the tourism businesses and local economies,
particularly in rural and seaside areas that are poorly served
by buses or trains (while 20% of all tourism trips are to the
countryside, only around 2% of these trip are taken using public
transport).
3.2 So while Britons undertake around one billion
tourism-related trips each year, national transport strategies
and local transport plans seldom contain initiatives specifically
aimed at facilitating this form of travel. Indeed, closures and
maintenance programmes are often specifically targeted to be
undertaken during holiday periods and weekends when tourism- related
travel is at its peak.
3.3 The main reason for this is that the vast
majority of journeys undertaken in the UK are related to commuter
travel and intercity business travel. By contrast, tourism-related
trips only account for 6% of all journeys undertaken in the UK.
Despite this, there is significant evidence to show that it should
not be considered a peripheral activity in transport planning.
3.4 "Leisure and other trips" account
for 40% of the total distance travelled per person per year in
the UK, compared to 29% for commuting and business, 26% for shopping
and 4% for the school run. This is because tourism journeys are
predominantly long distance journeys whereas the average distance
for commuter travel is only seven miles. This is highlighted by
"journey purpose by distance" figures which show that
tourism accounts for 70% of all journeys over 50 miles.
3.5 As a result, therefore, although tourism
accounts for only 6% of all private vehicle journeys, it accounts
for 20% of the total mileage undertaken using private vehicles
in the UK.
COALITION GOVERNMENT
STATEMENTS
4.0 In a speech in June, Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary
of State for Culture, Media and Sport said that he wanted to
see the proportion of tourism expenditure that UK residents spend
in this country increase from the current 36 to 50%. He made
clear that this would mean a boost to the UK economy of as much
as £7 billion, along with thousands of new job opportunities
right across the country.
4.1 Two months later, in a speech on tourism
by David Cameron that was welcomed by The Hoseasons Group, he
specifically stressed the importance of good transport links to
a successful tourist strategy - "we're supporting the
ambition to develop a new network of high speed rail across the
country. Because when a train to Brussels is as quick as a train
to Bournemouth and it's quicker to get from London to Paris than
it is to get to Blackpool what chance do our great seaside towns
have of drawing people from London?"
TRANSPORT POLICIES
5.0 We support the Coalition Government's view
that transport policy is an integral component of its tourism
strategy. This strategy must be subject to a joined-up approach
across Whitehall to ensure that all relevant departments make
a positive contribution to the development of tourism and that
no department can implement policies in isolation that have the
effect of harming the industry.
5.1 The Hoseasons Group welcomes the development
of a new network of high speed rail but hopes that it becomes
a reality and does not remain as an "ambition" as a
result of the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
5.2 At the same time, it is vital that the current
congestion on Britain's roads, estimated to cost the UK economy
as a whole some £7-8 billion a year, is tackled.
5.3 The reality is that private cars vehicles
will continue to be the principal mode of transport for tourism-related
travel.
5.4 Private cars provide visitors with a number
of core benefits that will make it difficult to persuade them
to switch to using public transport in significant numbers in
the near future. These benefits include the ability to transport
loads (essential for stays of longer duration) and travel at
the destination (transport around the destination is as important
for tourists as transport to it).
5.5 In this regard, we note The Highways Agency's
phased introduction of its Managed Motorways scheme which seeks
to control traffic flows more effectively through the use of
this new technology such as overhead gantries, lane specific signals,
and driver information signs. We suggest that this scheme is
closely monitored to ensure maximum effectiveness.
5.6 In addition, as a company that seeks to apply
good environmental practice in all of the communities in which
we operate, The Hoseasons Group supports the Government's promotion
of, green and sustainable investment in the UK road network through
its promotion of low carbon and electric vehicles and the implementation
of a national network of plug-in points for electric and hybrid
vehicles.
CONCLUSION
6.0 The Hoseasons Group believes that the domestic
tourism industry is on the threshold of an exciting period of
growth. However to make the next decade in the words of the Prime
Minister "the best ever for tourism in Britain"
requires a suite of transport policies that helps the industry
exploit the opportunities open to it to the full.
September 2010
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