HC Deb 01 March 1999 vol 326 cc724-6
4. Ms Ann Coffey (Stockport)

What his plans are for improving the competitiveness and quality of service of the UK hospitality and tourism industries. [72091]

The Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting (Janet Anderson)

"Tomorrow's Tourism", the new strategy which we published on 26 February, contains a number of recommendations for action by central and local government, the tourism industry and other key players to improve the competitiveness and quality of the industry, and thus make it a world leader. A copy of the strategy has been sent to every hon. Member.

Ms Coffey

I very much welcome the new tourism strategy and, in particular, the proposal to sign up 500 new employers to work towards Investors in People, which will improve the quality of training in the industry. Does my hon. Friend agree that towns such as Stockport, with its many attractions, such as the largest railway viaduct in Europe, are sometimes overlooked in the contribution that they make to the United Kingdom tourist industry?

Janet Anderson

I assure my hon. Friend that our strategy document "Tomorrow's Tourism" welcomes the contribution of industrial heritage around the country, particularly in her constituency. I thank her for her welcome for the new drive to sign up 500 employers towards the Investors in People standard to help raise the quality of training in the industry.

Mr. David Ruffley (Bury St. Edmunds)

Can the Minister tell business men and women in my constituency who work in the tourist industry why they feel that they have become worse off in the past 12 months as a direct result of increased tax and red tape under this Government?

Janet Anderson

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the very warm welcome given the strategy by Michael Jolly, chief executive of Two Swords, a successful attraction company. He said: I greatly welcome this new strategy which addresses the needs of tourism businesses of all types and places them exactly where they belong—in the mainstream of British industry. It appears that Mr. Jolly does not agree with the hon. Gentleman.

Mr. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)

Will my hon. Friend reconsider how signage is coloured on our motorways? It is coloured a dirty brown which does not help give a valuable sharp new image of Britain.

Janet Anderson

As ever, my hon. Friend makes an interesting suggestion. It might be expensive to change the colour, but we will note his comment.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey)

What does the Minister have to say to the British Incoming Tour Operators Association, which says of the Government's playfully coloured strategy document that Ministers have lost the plot? I do not think that it was referring to the Home Secretary, who is clearly doing his bit for French tourism. Is not the document's main effect to marginalise England within the United Kingdom? Who asked for that? What is the point of a tourism strategy document that fails to address any of the key issues raised by the industry—red tape, bureaucracy, the working time directive, the part-time workers directive, the parental leave directive and the national minimum wage?

Janet Anderson

As ever, it is the hon. Gentleman who has lost the plot. It is rich for him to accuse us of marginalising England when it was the Conservative party which reduced funding for English tourism from £25 million to less than £10 million. The strategy has been widely welcomed. It is the first time that the Government have produced a comprehensive strategy of this sort. It was welcomed warmly by the industry in consultation with which, for the first time, it was drawn up.

Mr. Cynog Dafis (Ceredigion)

Cannot the growth of tourism in some ways be problematic for the natural environment? I am thinking of the growth of traffic and transport. What is the Department doing to make tourism and its development compatible with the principles of sustainability? Is the Green Minister in the Department doing any specific work on this?

Janet Anderson

I assure the hon. Gentleman that one of the action points in our 15-point action plan referred specifically to that. It produced a blueprint for the sustainable development of tourism to safeguard our countryside, heritage and culture for future generations. I draw his attention to the support for the strategy of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport, who recognised why the transport system is so important and pointed out that some of the things that we are trying to do will make a major contribution to encouraging tourism.

Dr. George Turner (North-West Norfolk)

Does my hon. Friend agree that, apart from accommodation, what British tourism needs more than anything else is better training for staff? Will she therefore congratulate Searles of Hunstanton on being leaders in introducing a national vocational qualification in running caravan parks?

Will she do all that she can to encourage all those involved in tourism to ensure that staff are trained far more thoroughly than in the past?

Janet Anderson

I assure my hon. Friend that we recognise the importance of that. One of the strategy's main points is to help tourism change from being an industry that has perhaps been perceived as providing low-wage, temporary employment with no career structure or proper training. That is why one of the 15 action points is a new drive to sign up 500 employers to work towards the Investors in People standard. I congratulate the company that my hon. Friend mentioned on its contribution.