HC Deb 02 February 1988 vol 126 cc555-6W
56. Sir Peter Blaker

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is being done to encourage tourism in Blackpool and the Fylde.

Mr. Lee

I understand that the Blackpool borough council currently spends some £800,000 a year on advertising, and £1.25 million on the illuminations. Amongst the many new tourism developments in the area are the 1,000.place car and coach park, the refurbishment of the Winter Gardens conference and exhibition centre, the opening of the Sandcastle centre and continuous capital investment at the pleasure beach. In addition, I understand that many existing hotels have improved and upgraded their facilities and several major new hotel developments are planned.

Since 1985, the English tourist board have made some £388,000 of section 4 assistance available to tourism projects in Blackpool and the Fylde.

60. Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much tourists spent in the East Midlands Tourist Board area in 1986; and how many jobs tourism supports within the region.

Mr. Lee

The amount spent by tourists in the East Midlands tourist board area in 1986 is estimated to be around £400 million. Estimates of employment in all tourism.related industries are not available on a regional basis for 1986. However, the number of employees in employment in hotels and catering in the east midlands was 58,900 in June 1986. This figure does not include the self-employed for whom a comparable estimate is not available.