§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to promote(a) tourist attractions and (b) resorts outside London. [101421]
§ Dr. HowellsThe British Tourist Authority has a target in its Funding Agreement with my Department to promote a regional spread of overseas visitors to the UK. The Department also contributes funding (£250,000 in 2002–03) to the Greater London Authority to help support its statutory duty of promoting London as a Gateway to the rest of the UK.
As part of the Government's tourism reform programme the new national tourism organisation will be launched on 1 April 2003 with a remit that will include domestic marketing. Also, the Regional Development Agencies in England will from 1 April play a stronger part in the strategic leadership of tourism, and this will help stimulate awareness of the importance of maintaining high quality amenities and services across the country, including traditional resorts. Local Authorities, working with tourist attractions, also play an important role in attracting visitors.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to increase the numbers of visitors to the UK from(a) EU countries and (b) non-EU countries. [101422]
§ Dr. HowellsThe British Tourism Authority (BTA) is responsible for promoting Britain overseas. It has offices around the world which undertake a full range of promotional activities in 27 countries, including EU and non-EU countries. Its activities include advertising, marketing, direct mail, new media, travel trade liaison, press and public relations work, to increase the number of visitors to Britain.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total Government expenditure on the promotion of tourism in the UK to visitors from overseas was in 2002. [101423]
§ Dr. HowellsIn 2002–03, the total amount of funding for tourism promotion overseas was £57.4 million. DCMS allocated the British Tourist Authority £35.5 million in baseline grant in aid for the promotion of Britain overseas as a tourist destination. An additional £20 million was allocated to help tourism to recover from the impact of foot and mouth disease and 11 September. A further £1.9 million was allocated to the Greater London Authority for the promotion of the capital as a tourist destination and as a gateway to the rest of the UK.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what targets are identified under the current grant in aid funding agreement with the English Tourism Council. [101424]
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§ Dr. HowellsFunding agreement targets agreed between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the English Tourism Council (ETC) are included in the ETC's recent annual report, which was laid before Parliament and is available in the Libraries of both Houses.