§ Mr. Matthew BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what response she has received to her Department's new strategy for tourism, "Success through Partnership". [15829]
§ Mrs. Virginia Bottomley"Success through Partnership: A Strategy for Tourism" builds on the successful programme we have completed over the last two years, which has developed a closer working relationship than ever before between Government and industry. The recent report of the National Heritage Select Committee has helped to inform the development of this tourism strategy. The Government's strategy document has been warmly welcomed as a joint initiative with the industry.
The strategy provides a clear statement of our objectives for the tourism industry and an agenda for future action. It represents a true partnership and involves key players from central and local government, tourist boards, the industry, trade and professional bodies and consumer groups. All have been fully involved in preparing and taking forward the strategy and are committed to developing tourism as a high quality, profitable and sustainable activity to realise the growth potential of the industry and the associated social and cultural benefits for the nation.
The strategy covers six main areas:
creating the right framework for success—raising the public profile and prestige of tourism;improving the quality of the tourism product;developing a world-class human resource;making marketing more effective—co-ordinating effort and pooling resources to optimise impact;improving information provision; andmanaging tourism demand and impacts—sustainable tourism that spreads the benefits and protects the environment that attracts tourists in the first place.Copies of the document are available in the Libraries of the House.