Leisure Media Issue 3 2009 - Leisure Opportunities

FIRST PERSONTACKLINGTOURISMTHE BRITISH TOURISM FRAMEWORK REVIEW HAS DETERMINED HOWVISITBRITAIN CAN BEST WORK TO DELIVER THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THEVISITOR ECONOMY. CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUES, VISIT BRITAIN CHAIRMANAND CHAIRMAN OF THE REVIEW, DISCUSSES THE RESULTSOver the last six months, VisitBritain has been workingwith the industry to implement the recommendationsof the British Tourism Framework Review.Commissioned by the secretary of state for the DCMS,this review examined the entire infrastructure surrounding thevisitor economy to ensure that spending is directed as efficientlyas possible. It’s already led to a restructuring of VisitBritain tofocus on policy, platforms and our overseas network, and to aseparate VisitEngland with its own CEO.In parallel, a Deloitte and Oxford Economics study commissionedby VisitBritain and the Tourism Alliance revealed thescale of our industry’s contribution to the economy. The reviewtook devolution as a given; its solutions are robust and will surviveany future reorganisation at the regional or national level.It soon became clear that we needed, once and for all, tomove the visitor economy from being an industry that peopleonly notice when times are bad – the foot and mouth syndrome,(Below) A new tourism body, VisitEngland, willpromote the likes of the Peak District, the BritishMuseum and London’s Albert Bridge to visitorsif you will – into its rightful position as one of Britain’s leadingindustries. An industry with a very high employment coefficient;an industry with significant multiplier benefits to the rest of theeconomy and to the quality of life we live in Britain; and, critically,an industry that – to paraphrase a well known commercial– “reaches parts of the economy other industries cannot reach”.RISKS REVEALEDThe Deloitte research revealed that the total economic contributionof the visitor economy to Britain is £114bn, or 8.2 percent of total GDP, and employs 2.6 million people. In the longerterm it predicts that the sector’s economic impact could growto £188bn by 2018, and that the 2012 Olympics in particularshould provide a significant boost to tourism and travel revenues.However, it details a number of risks to the sector thatwould prevent it delivering that target. As well as the turbulenteconomic climate, Deloitte highlights a number of market failuresand policy barriers that “could prevent the visitor economyfrom optimising its potential”. These include a lack of informationabout what’s on offer for visitors, skill shortages, transportdifficulties and overcrowding. The report also details areasPHOTO: BRITAINONVIEW/ VISIT PEAKS & DERBYSHIRE/ DANIEL BOSWORTHPHOTOS: VISITLONDONIMAGES/ BRITAINONVIEW42 Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digitalISSUE 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009