Foot and Mouth (Hansard, 15 October 2001)

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy to make funds available to organisations representing the rural tourist industry to publicise the lifting of restrictions caused by the foot and mouth crisis. [6074]

§ Dr. Howells
Although no specific funds were given to organisations representing the rural tourist industry, of the £3.8 million provided to the English Tourism Council (ETC) on 6 April for advertising and promotion, £2 million was given directly to the English Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs). This is in addition to the ETC's annual grant-in-aid allocation of £9.6 million, approximately half of which is allocated to the regions, including the RTBs. The RTBs also gained access to £50 million made available through the rural recovery fund.

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value of financial assistance from Government to the tourist industry in England has been since the start of the foot and mouth crisis. [6070]

§ Dr. Howells
Since the start of the outbreak, the Government have provided additional funds of £3.8 million to the English Tourism Council and £14.2 million to the British Tourist Authority for marketing and promotion.
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In total, the Government have allocated in excess of £300 million in aid to small rural businesses, mainly in the tourism sector. This includes £50 million for the business recovery fund, £22 million for hardship rate relief, £120 million in loans available under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme and £4 million to help authorities re-open pathways. Many towns hit by foot and mouth are also included in a £100 million market town regeneration scheme. All these measures bring enormous benefits to the rural tourism industry.

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the loss in revenue to the tourist industry in England as a result of foot and mouth since the start of the outbreak. [6071]

§ Dr. Howells
Our best estimate to date is that the loss of revenue in 2001–2002 by the English tourism industry is likely to be about £3.3 billion in "value added" terms over the 8-month period under consideration (March to October). We will continue to revise the model on which this estimate is based in the light of the latest available data.

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much expenditure was incurred by her Department in(a) publicising the closure of rural tourism areas during the foot and mouth crisis and (b) publicising the subsequent lifting of restrictions. [6073]

§ Dr. Howells
No specific funding was provided by the DCMS for publicising the closure and subsequent lifting of restrictions in the countryside. However, the ETC and BTA have used additional funding to provide information on what attractions are open to prospective visitors through websites and information centres, as part of their overall marketing strategies.

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures her Department is taking to reverse the impression that tourist areas formally restricted because of foot and mouth, and now re-opened, are still closed. [6082]

§ Dr. Howells
At the regional, national and international level, new tourist websites and visitor hotlines have provided reassurance and a clear picture that Britain is open. Leaflet information has also proved successful. Much of the £18 million in additional funding provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to the British Tourist Authority (BTA) and English Tourist Council (ETC) has been used in strategic advertising and marketing campaigns to motivate potential customers and provide information on what is open. Furthermore, DCMS Ministers attended a number of high-profile domestic events to increase rural tourism's exposure and counter myth.