§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will send a mission to Italy to examine the reasons for the level of long-stay tourist arrivals. [26540]
§ Mr. DorrellI have been asked to reply.
My proposals for action by the Government, the statutory tourist boards and the industry to improve the competitive performance of UK tourism were published in March. The work programme I then announced was based on a careful analysis of the UK tourism industry and the opportunities and threats it faces.
While the experience of other countries such as Italy is of interest, the lessons are not always easy to transfer to the domestic context, where very different conditions apply. I have therefore no plans to send a mission to Italy.