§ 57. Mr. Gregoryasked the Paymaster General what is his estimate of the wealth and job creation potential of the small business sector over the next 12 months in the tourism sector.
§ Mr. TrippierThe Department does not produce forecasts of wealth and job creation linked to tourism spending. Many factors are involved. But if tourism spending continues to grow (the estimated increase between 1984 and 1985 was £1.2 billion at current prices or 10 per cent.) There will be scope for many thousands of new jobs in tourism-related sectors over the coming years. Job creation of the order of 50,000 jobs a year is feasible according to estimates from the BTA/ETB. Since the tourism sector has a high proportion of small businesses much of the growth could be expected to benefit the small business sector.