Asked by Lord Lee of Trafford To ask Her Majesty’s Government
what is their most recent assessment of the importance of tourism
to the economy of the United Kingdom. Lord Lee of Trafford
(LD) I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as chairman of
the Association of Leading Visitor...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent
assessment of the importance of tourism to the economy of
the United Kingdom.
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(LD)
I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the
Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as chairman
of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Lord Ashton of Hyde)
(Con)
My Lords, the Government recognise that tourism is vital to
the UK economy. Tourism makes important contributions to
local economies across the UK and is particularly
significant in rural and coastal areas. In 2016, direct
tourism GVA was estimated to be worth £66.1 billion to the
UK economy, a 2.2% increase on 2015. The sector is
predicted to grow at an annual rate of 3.8% through to
2025.
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My Lords, last year’s tourism growth was four times greater
than that of the overall economy. Tourism is now arguably
the number one industry in more parliamentary
constituencies than any other single industry, and future
developments such as Diageo’s £150 million investment in
its whisky distilleries’ visitor centres, the £28 million
upgrade to Blackpool’s Winter Gardens and the £55 million
master plan for the Royal Albert Hall will provide
complementary boosts to design and construction industries
and food and drink manufacturers.
In Northern Ireland, 8.5% of the total jobs are in tourism.
Approximately 500,000 visitors cross the border from the
Republic of Ireland annually, 30% of them visitors to
Titanic Belfast. Does the Minister accept that any hard
border would be a big no-no for Northern Ireland’s tourism?
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My Lords, in her Mansion House speech, the PM made a
commitment to avoid a hard border, which is important
because 28% of all visits to Northern Ireland by residents
from outside the island of Ireland arrived at a port or
airport in Ireland. We understand that Northern Ireland’s
visitor attractions, including the Titanic and the Giant’s
Causeway, rely heavily on external visitors, many of whom
travel across the border.
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(Lab)
My Lords, may I ask the Minister a slightly shorter
question? Is he aware of the contribution that heritage
railways make to the tourist economy? On the latest
estimate, is somewhere between £250 million and £300
million a year, particularly in the coastal and rural areas
to which he referred in his Answer. Could he please have a
look at the Written Answer his noble friend gave me last week
about the future supplies of coal, which are so important
to steam railways, and give an assurance that, after 2023,
coal supplies will continue to be available?
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My Lords, I do not have specific figures on heritage
railways, but I can assure the noble Lord that I shall not
shunt his question into a siding and, with the help of my
noble friend , I shall endeavour
to smoke out the answer.
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(Con)
My Lords, tourism is the third or fourth largest export
earner for the UK. Since we relaxed the tourism visa for
the Chinese, we have more than doubled the number of
Chinese people coming to the UK. Are we proposing to do the
same thing for some of Africa and India?
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My noble friend makes a good point. We have offered a
two-year visa to the Chinese since 2016 for the same price
as a six-month visa. This is a pilot scheme that is
currently being evaluated, and we have no plans to stop
that. However, until the pilot scheme has been evaluated,
there are no plans to extend it.
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(CB)
My Lords, to build on what the noble Lord, , just said, the
precise figure is £85 for a two-year multiple entry visa
from China since 2016, whereas from India the figure is
four times that, at nearly £350. With India being one of
the fastest-growing economies in the world, and a huge
number of tourists from India going abroad, we are losing
out on those tourist visitors. Would the Minister agree
with that? Secondly, the Government’s plan for Brexit is to
do free trade deals around the world. Free trade deals are
about movement of people. Without doing this, do the
British Government think they will have a free trade deal
with India? Dream on!
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My Lords, I have not seen any evidence that the cost of
visas has penalised tourism from India. Although visas are
constantly being looked at by the Home Office, the tourism
industry overall has gone from strength to strength, with
year-on-year increases since 2012.
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(Lab)
Does the Minister accept that the motor car is one of the
greatest challenges to the tourist industry, and that we
are not helped when railway companies, such as Northern,
frequently cancel trains? Two weeks ago, 94 trains on the
Lakes line into the Lake District were cancelled in a
single week. Will the Government look at the possibility of
forcing Northern Rail to run a proper service into the Lake
District?
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I agree that a proper service is important for tourism. One
of our main problems at the moment is persuading tourists
from outside the UK to go to places apart from London, which
accounts for 58% of visits. It therefore follows that a
proper transport infrastructure is essential to get visitors
away from London to look at the benefits of our wonderful
heritage.
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(LD)
My Lords, VisitBritain estimates that the UK will attract
more than 40 million overseas visitors this year, following
six years of record-breaking growth. However, the UK is
losing market share because many of our competitors,
particularly the major ones, are spending much more than us
on promoting their countries abroad. Will the Government act
to secure the long-term future of Britain’s tourism industry
by including this vital sector in the modern industrial
strategy?
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Absolutely. That is why the tourism industry has brought its
sector deal together. It is with BEIS at the moment and I
believe the department will comment on it imminently.
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My Lords, in my enthusiasm to ask my question, I omitted to
declare my interest as president of the Heritage Railway
Association.
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