Shadow Tourism Minister, Tobias Ellwood has written to Margaret Hodge demanding an apology for giving misleading tourism figures during the DCMS questions on Monday afternoon:
The letter states:
Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP
The Minister of State
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
London
SW1Y 5DH
31st October 2007
In Monday’s Parliamentary Questions to the Department for Culture Media and Sport I asked whether cutting Visit Britain’s budget, effectively slowing the engines that power Britain’s fifth largest industry, was the way to maximise British tourism opportunities in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics.
In your reply, you stated (Hansward column 520) that “Across the public sector in excess of £350m is being invested in marketing in the UK.” Having looked at the figures in detail, I see no evidence in support of your claim. Marketing budgets for British tourism are broken down as follows:
Visit Britain (overseas marketing) £35.5m
Visit England £12.3m
Visit Scotland £21.7m
Visit Wales £13.5m
Northern Ireland Tourist Board approx £5m
Total approx £88m
Local Authorities and RDAs also have some funding for tourism. However you will be aware that RDA funds are spent on supporting the tourism industry and not entirely on marketing. In any case this does not add up to £350m needed to balance your claim on expenditure on marketing in the UK.
You also challenged my statement that “more Britons were choosing to holiday abroad than ever before” commenting that I should get my facts right. Visit Britain has confirmed that outbound visits were up 9% in 2006 compared with 2005 and increased again in the first six months of 2007. In your reply you chose to highlight seasonally adjusted results for the three months up to August which paints a very selective picture of trends in British tourism.
I would be very grateful for an explanation to qualify the figures you chose or an apology. Cutting Visit Britain’s budget in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics and quibbling about tourism statistics, when the tourism deficit has risen from £4bn in 1997 to £18bn today, suggest a Government in denial of its responsibility to British tourism.
I look forward to your reply
Yours sincerely,