§ Baroness Anelay of St Johnsasked Her Majesty's Government:
On what basis their removal from the English Tourism Council of a marketing role for England complies with the provisions of Section 2 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969. [HL1202]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThe Development of Tourism Act 1969 gave the then English Tourist Board the function of encouraging people to visit England and people living in England to take their holidays there. This Government did not remove that marketing role when we set up the English Tourism Council in 1999. We changed its remit so that it can now focus on being a strategic centre of excellence and is no longer charged with delivering services directly. It continues to carry out its legal function by retaining a strategic policy overview of marketing, providing market research and advising on best practice. It has, for instance, introduced a new England tourism brand, following extensive consultation with the industry, and published a related brand guide.
However, the English Tourism Council has neither been asked nor funded to carry out promotion campaigns. To do so would substantially alter the role assigned to England's national tourism body after the Comprehensive Spending Review and the publication of Tomorrow's Tourism in February 1999. The British Tourist Authority markets England very effectively abroad and domestic marketing is carried out by the regional tourist boards, local authorities and other destination management organisations, as well as by the industry itself.