§ 21. Dame Irene Wardasked the President of the Board of Trade how many staff are employed by his Department in the questioning of British travellers returning from Europe, details of which have been sent to him; what is the reason for their employment in this way; and what is the annual cost involved.
§ Sir K. JosephA voluntary sample survey of all passengers travelling to and from the United Kingdom has been introduced to improve the estimates of tourist receipts and expenditure to our international balance of payments, and to provide estimates of the total number of migrants by sea and air. A part-time staff of about a hundred interviewers is currently employed. The total cost of the survey is estimated at £ 80,000 a year.
§ Dame Irene WardIs my hon. Friend aware that this information is staggering? Why was not Parliament informed about this before? When shall we he able to have a little money for 266 something which would be more worth while? I could spend that £ 80,000 very easily on doing something very much more worth while.
§ Sir K. JosephPerhaps my hon. Friend does not appreciate that tourism is a very large getter and spender in our international accounts.
§ Dame Irene WardYes, I do. I have masses of tourists.
§ Sir K. JosephMost countries want to inform themselves more about the actual cost and results of tourism, and many of them do it by much more expensive and much less effective ways than the sample interview. For all these purposes, and particularly so that we can learn more about the balancing item in our international accounts, this seems a very effective and economic way of vetting the information.