This week updates covers the following information:
- BADA (British Air Display Association) – UKEVENTS is delighted to welcome BADA as new Partner. A press release is being prepared which will be shared with you and circulated to the media in due time. Welcome on board! 😊
- Coronation Events Logo from VisitEngland – If you are not already aware of it, this information from VisitEngland may be of interest to you and your members: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7056557792156889088?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
- TA Newsflash – Maternity cover Tourism Minister announced.
- TA Weekly Update (27th April 2023) – TA Webinar – Short-term lets registration | Congratulations to new TA board members | Sadiq Khan joins calls for youth travel policy changes | Associations uniting to oppose cuts to tourism education funding | No updates for a couple of weeks
In the TA Weekly Update, Michael wanted to particularly draw your attention to the webinar on the short term lettings registration consultation to be held Wednesday 10th May 1000-1100 to brief interested parties on the Alliance’s position. Please note that you need to register in advance and registration is now open here. This will be of interest to those where properties such as Air BnB are critical in the provision of accommodation for event visitors. Beam has agreed to prepare a submission on behalf of UKEVENTS, but all partners are encouraged to take part in the webinar to gauge the Alliance’s position on this matter.
Please also note Susan Tanner, UKEVENTS Executive Committee Member has been elected to the TA Board to represent UKEVENTS in place of Michael Hirst, who is standing down from the Alliance board after serving for 20 years in that role. Susan will serve a three year term from June. Many congratulations to Susan. 😊 Also of interest is the campaign by several Associations including our partner AEME to oppose cuts to tourism education funding.
TA Newsflash Sir John Whittingdale will be interim DCMS Minister Following the resignation of Dominic Raab earlier today, the Prime Minister has conducted a small reshuffle.  As part of that Number 10 has announced that the Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale MP (Maldon) will be appointed as Minister Minister of State jointly in DCMS and DSIT (Science, Innovation, and Technology) when the current Minister, Julia Lopez MP, goes on maternity leave in the coming weeks. John Whittingdale will be familiar to many in the sector as he has a long history with DCMS having served as both Secretary of State and Minister previously, as well as Chair of the HoC DCMS Select Committee. Although portfolios have not officially been announced it is expected that John Whittingdale will take over Julia Lopez’s brief in DCMS and DSIT and therefore will have the tourism area of responsibility. |
TA Weekly Update – 27th April 2023
 Members’ Weekly Update |
| In this update…27th April 2023 TA Webinar – Short-term lets registration Congratulations to new TA board members Sadiq Khan joins calls for youth travel policy changes Associations uniting to oppose cuts to tourism education funding No updates for a couple of weeks TA Webinar – Short-term lets registration  Following the publication of the consultation on a registration scheme for short-term lets by DCMS the TA Policy Working Group on Short-Term Lets and Registration has been pulling together our initial policy response. Next week we will be able to circulate our position paper on this consultation as well as an analysis and question-by-question run through of the document. Standby for those – we’ll get them out as soon as we can. We can also announce that we will be holding a Webinar on this where Alistair Handyside who chairs that policy working group, as well as the Professional Association of Self-Caterers, will run through the policy and be able to answer questions. That session will be chaired by Tom Jenkins, the Tourism Alliance Chair. The webinar will be on Wednesday 10th May 1000-1100. You need to register in advance and registration is now open. Consultation document: Consultation on a registration scheme for short-term lets in England Register for the webinar Congratulations to new TA board members Many thanks to all those who put themselves forward to serve on the TA Board. The ballot closed on Tuesday to fill six places to serve a three year term. The following candidates were successfully elected and will join the rest of the board following the AGM in June: Brigid Simmonds – Betting and Gaming Council Luke Petherbridge – ABTA Emma McClarkin – British Beer and Pub Association Susan Tanner – UKEVENTS Nick Lomas – Caravan and Motorhome Club Katherine Haynes – British Holiday and Home Parks Association Thank you too to all those members who took the time to vote in the election. Sadiq Khan joins calls for youth travel policy changes: Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today issued a call for policy changes to support and encourage youth travel. The Mayor points out the problems that changes to border policies have had, as well as the importance of expanding the Youth Mobility Scheme. Khan argues for a new youth group travel scheme. In welcoming the Mayor’s contribution to this debate, we said: “London and the rest of the country have so much to offer visitors young and old. We should be encouraging tourists to come here, not putting up unnecessary barriers. No longer accepting ID cards at the border has had a massive hit on the numbers of young people coming to visit the UK, especially on organised school trips. Last year there was an 83% reduction in the number of students that operators in Europe sent to the UK. “And Youth Mobility is a great reciprocal scheme where young people get to travel and experience different cultures and so often bring back an enthusiasm for the county to their home nation which lasts a lifetime. Youth Mobility Schemes already exist and urgently need expanding to more countries such as France, Spain and Poland, so that more young people can benefit.” The Evening Standard have covered the story. Associations uniting to oppose cuts to tourism education funding. You may be aware that the Department for Education is intending to scrap level 3 travel and tourism courses after 2025, something which will clearly have a knock on effect on the people wanting and being inspired to take up a career in our sector. Doing this at a time when the tourism industry is struggling with such acute labour problems is especially concerning. In response a number of organisations, including the Tourism Alliance and many of our member associations, are uniting to push back against this proposal and make the case for the importance of tourism education. You can read about this in this TTG piece. |