Select Committee Report
The CMS Select Committee has published the findings of their inquiry into Promoting Britain Abroad. Please click here to read the full report as well as a copy of the Press release that goes with it.
- Select Committee Report
The Tourism Alliance gave written and oral evidence to this inquiry and the findings and recommendations listed below reflect many of the main issues that we raised with the select committee including:
- The Government should publish an assessment of the direct and indirect impact that withdrawing from the VAT Retail Export Scheme will have had on the inbound tourism sector
- In all future decisions affecting the inbound tourism sector, the Government should conduct impact assessments not only of the direct consequences of a policy but of the indirect ones as well.
- We recommend that the Government should allow children and young people under the age of 18, travelling as part of a supervised educational and/or cultural group visit, to enter the UK on a single group ID card.
- The Government should expand VisitBritain’s Business Events Growth Programme and indicate in its response to our report the level of additional funding and the date by which it will be awarded
- We recommend that the Government should review entry requirements for visitors with a view to ensuring they match or surpass those of our competitors. It should publish the outcome of its review within 12 months
- We recommend that the Government should introduce a temporary recovery visa for industries where there is clear evidence of labour and skills shortages.
- The Government should increase VisitBritain’s marketing budget to match more closely those of our nearest competitors. VisitBritain should ensure that much of this increase in funding should be ringfenced to promoting regional destinations.
- We recommend that the Government should complete the pilot to a swift timescale and commit to implementing the de Bois recommendations in full.
- The Government should make the Tourism Minister a full-time position. We are open-minded as to which department the minister should be placed in, but it is crucial that their views should carry significant weight across all relevant departments, particularly the Home Office, HM Treasury and the Department for Transport
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