Mr. Gareth ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action he intends to take to encourage visitors to the UK to visit parts of the country outside London. [62961]
§ Janet AndersonThe British Tourist Authority recently opened the new Britain Visitor Centre in London. The new Centre, which is a partnership between the BTA and the tourist boards of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, aims to encourage visitors to London to travel more widely throughout the UK. This year we are providing a further £1.5 million to the London Tourist Board to support its Focus London campaign, which promotes London as a gateway to the rest of Britain. Our new tourism strategy, which will be published early next year, will set out in detail our plans for spreading the benefits of tourism throughout the country and throughout society.