§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the United Kingdom's share of the world tourism market in each year since 1979. [15369]
§ Mr. SproatComplete figures for each year are not available, but the latest world tourism organisation yearbook shows that the UK share of the world total for international tourism receipts was 4.4 per cent. in 1993 and 6.7 per cent. in 1980. Provisional figures published by the British Tourist Authority show a 1994 UK share of 4.5 per cent. All these calculations are based on amounts converted into US dollars.
§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what estimate she has made of the number of people employed in the tourism industry; and how many of these workers are(a) full time, (b) part time and (c) women. [15368]
§ Mr. SproatThere were 1,545,000 employees in employment in tourism-related industries in Great Britain in September 1995, and a further 186,000 self-employed. The latest available estimate is therefore total employment of 1,731,000.
Of the employees in employment (a) 705,000 are full time, (b) 841,000 are part time and (c) 911,000 are women.
§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the United Kingdom's tourism balance of trade for each year since 1979. [15370]
176W
UK Balance of Payments: Travel Account £ million current prices Credits (earnings from overseas visitors to UK) Debits (expenditure by UK residents going abroad) Balance 1979 2,797 2,109 688 1980 2,961 2,738 223 1981 2,970 3,272 -302 1982 3,188 3,640 -452 1983 4,003 4,090 -87 1984 4,614 4,663 -49 1985 5,442 4,871 571 1986 5,553 6,083 -530 1987 6,260 7,280 -1,020
UK Balance of Payments: Travel Account £ million current prices Credits (earnings from overseas visitors to UK) Debits (expenditure by UK residents going abroad) Balance 1988 6,184 8,216 -2,032 1989 6,945 9,357 -2,412 1990 7,785 9,916 -2,131 1991 7,168 9,834 -2,666 1992 8,076 11,283 -3,207 1993 9,375 12,707 -3,332 1994 9,920 14,500 -4,580 19951 8,480 11,507 -3,027 1 Q1-Q3 only; seasonally adjusted.
§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the most recent estimate she has made of the value of tourism to the United Kingdom's economy. [15371]
§ Mr. SproatTourism makes a significant contribution to our economy. Spending by tourists in the UK was more than £36 billion in 1994, which is equivalent to more than 5 per cent. of total GDP. The number of jobs in tourism-related industries increased by nearly 4 per cent. in the year to last September, to reach nearly 1.75 million. The total economic and employment impact of travel and tourism is even greater than these figures show because of the indirect benefits of tourism spending across the economy.