§ Mr. Fallonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to further the development of the United Kingdom tourism and leisure industry.
§ Mr. Norman LamontMy right hon. Friend the Minister without Portfolio is to chair a group of Government Ministers, including, of course, myself, and546W officials which will be looking at ways to encourage the faster growth of the tourism and leisure industries in the United Kingdom. The group will concentrate on the statutory or other obstacles which stand in the way of developing employment and enterprise in the industries, and my right hon. Friend will be pleased to hear from people who have views which they think the group should take into account. The group is expected to complete its work by the end of July.
§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, pursuant to the answer of 25 March, he will list the current obstacles to the further success of tourism in Great Britain.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[pursuant to his reply, 29 March 1985, c. 382]: A number of suggestions were made during the tourism review about what the Government might do to remove certain obstacles to the development and growth of the tourism industry. These suggestions were referred to in the paper placed in the Vote Office on 22 November 1983 at the time of my tourism review statement and they included such topics as Sunday trading; licensing laws; and the impression given to overseas visitors at our major sea and air ports. All these topics involve policy considerations which go wider than tourism, and all are presently under consideration in a number of Government Departments. It was also suggested that much could be done to improve the level of tourism signposting in this country, and two experiments are now being conducted in Kent and Nottingham to assess the scope for better tourism signposting.