(Secretary of State for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy): The
government’s modern Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan
to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout
the UK. Sector deals bring industry and government together in
partnership to boost productivity in their sector and to ensure
sectors are able to take advantage of major global changes such
as those identified in the Industrial Strategy Grand Challenges.
The tourism sector has the scale and geographical reach to
deliver real change for local economies.
The Deal that has been struck today means that the government and
industry have agreed a plan that will drive economic growth,
underpin continued infrastructure investment and enhance the
attractiveness of the sector as a long-term career.
Tourism Zones will bring businesses and local organisations
together to establish a coordinated strategy for growth in their
local visitor economy - and a reduction in the impact of
seasonality. Industry will deliver 30,000 apprenticeships in
England per year by 2025 as well as leading a mentoring programme
aimed at supporting 10,000 employees - so that they are more
likely to remain in the sector.
The UK will continue to be Europe’s leading hub for hotel
investment for the next decade with over 130,000 additional
bedrooms added to accommodation stocks by 2025 - with 75 per cent
of these outside of London.
A new independent Tourism Data Hub will be created with support
offered from some of our biggest travel companies. This will
allow organisations, including SMEs, to make the most of the big
data revolution to understand activity and product preferences in
their area.
In conjunction with the Sector Deal, the UK Government has also
published an International Business Events Action Plan. The
Action Plan outlines in detail how the Government will support
the business events industry in attracting, creating and growing
international business events.
These mutual commitments are impressive but we want to go even
further - ensuring that as many different visitors as possible
can experience our tourism offer. That is why this Deal commits
to ensuring that the UK will become the most accessible tourism
destination in Europe by 2025 and increasing the number of
international disabled visitors by 33 per cent.
Additionally, the introduction of sustainable development plans
as part of the Tourism Zones policy sets a clear expectation on
the sector to reduce its carbon footprint today, and in the
future, helping the UK on its path to clean growth.
Taken together these measures are key in building a world-class
experience economy and will ensure the tourism industry can
continue to grow inbound visitor numbers by an estimated 25% by
2025. They will boost local economies by making best use of
tourism assets throughout the year - ensuring we will be able to
give the visitors of the future the very best of experiences
throughout our country.
This is an ambitious Deal - which is why joint delivery
mechanisms are being established to ensure government and
industry work closely together to deliver the plans. The UK
Government will also work closely with the devolved
administrations - complementing their existing Tourism strategies
- and ensuring the benefits of the Deal extend right across the
UK. It is a Deal that will support tourism and hospitality
employees as the sector grows - helping it to remain a global
leader, long into the future.
