§ 10. Mr. Hugo Swire (East Devon)If she will make a statement on the UKOK campaign. [53971]
§ The Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting (Dr. Kim Howells)The British Tourist Authority's £5 million UKOK campaign was launched in January and continues to run in a number of markets. The campaign has been successful in reassuring potential visitors about 497 the safety of travelling to Britain. The BTA is now building on that work with the £40 million "million visitor" campaign.
§ Mr. SwireGiven that the Government were able quickly to find £;5 million for the UKOK campaign, and given that the Minister, in a debate on south-west tourism in Westminster Hall on 1 May, admitted that abandoning the marketing role of the English tourist board had been a mistake, may I suggest that it is not okay to delay funding any further, especially for areas such as the south-west that have suffered so badly in the wake of foot and mouth? Will he give a commitment, as regards the figures that come out at the end of the summer, to do something to redress the imbalance of the £;28 million and the £22 million allocated this year to the Scottish tourist board and the Wales tourist board?
§ Dr. HowellsI cannot answer for the Scots and the Welsh—they have their own decision-making powers and can allocate whatever funds they see fit. The hon. Gentleman clearly does not understand devolution. It has occurred, it is there and he had better realise it.
The British Tourist Authority has done a tremendous job in persuading overseas visitors to come to this country. Last year, there was a big fall-away in numbers of in-bound tourists. This year, so far, there has been a very small decrease in year-on-year terms. The south-west tourist board has done a magnificent job in getting visitors back in. It had a record autumn and has good forward bookings. At the moment everything looks extremely good, and I am very optimistic about the future of tourism.
I say to the hon. Gentleman, as I said to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Miss Kirkbride), that this is not the place to decry the tremendous efforts made by the tourism authorities to recover from the most difficult year that the tourism industry has ever experienced. I hope that he will continue to support the south-west tourist board.