§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what methodology is used by his Department to calculate average spending by visitors to(a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [141410]
§ Mr. Chris SmithMy officials consult the findings of well-established surveys of(a) UK households and (b) overseas visitors to the UK, from which information is collected concerning total tourism spending in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The total figures are then divided by the estimated number of tourists, as also identified by the surveys.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his policy is towards proposals to extend EU competence in the field of tourism. [141418]
§ Mr. Chris SmithHer Majesty's Government would not support any proposals to extend EU competence in the field of tourism.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on trends in incoming tourism to the United Kingdom. [141426]
§ Mr. Chris SmithThe numbers of North American and other long-haul visitors to the UK have increased by 3 per cent. and 1 per cent. respectively in the first 10 months of this year, compared with the corresponding period of 1999, although visits from Europe are down by 4 per cent. and overall visits by 2 per cent.
Overall spend by overseas visitors is up by 1 per cent. to £10.8 billion in the first 10 months of this year, compared with the equivalent period of 1999, and remains on course to be one of the highest levels on record.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to restore a marketing remit to the English Tourism Council. [141424]
§ Mr. Chris SmithThe English Tourism Council was set up with a specifically strategic role. It does of course consider marketing needs in this context and it carries out market research and identifies and disseminates best practice, working closely with Regional Tourist Boards and others. In recent months it has produced guidance for the use of regional and local bodies and the industry, to help to promote the England brand.
The British Tourist Authority does an excellent job marketing England abroad and this is complemented by the work of the Regional Tourist Boards, local authorities and other destination organisations.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the English Tourism Council regarding the funding of IT programmes. [141417]
§ Mr. Chris SmithI and my officials are in regular contact with the English Tourism Council (ETC) about the development of e-tourism in this country. The 41W importance of this was highlighted in the Government's national tourism strategy and we have set up an e-tourism group, chaired by the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting, and including private sector expertise, in order to assess the best way forward, including funding. We have increased the ETC' s budget by 20 per cent. from 2002–03, rising by a further 5 per cent. the year after.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is the per capita public funding of tourism in(a) England, (b) Scotland,(c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in the current financial year. [141411]
§ Mr. Chris SmithIn 2000–01, the National Tourist Boards are due to receive grant in aid as follows:
Board Grant in aid £ million) Population (Million) Grant in aid per capita (£) British Tourist Authority 37.0 57.6 0.64 English Tourism Council 11.0 49.6 0.22 Scottish Tourist Board 24.5 5.1 4.80 Wales Tourist Board 15.4 2.9 5.31 Northern Ireland Tourist Board 13.9 1.7 8.18 However, Government support for tourism is not confined to grant for tourist boards. DCMS is also spending some £1 billion in 2000–01, for example, on the arts, royal parks and palaces, museums and galleries, much of which directly benefits tourism. Moreover, English local authorities are estimated to have spent over £90 million last year on tourism, or £1.81 per head; comparable figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not available.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he last(a) attended and (b) was represented at, the EU Internal Market Council for Consumer Affairs and Tourism. [141419]
§ Mr. Chris SmithThe first meeting of the newly reorganised Internal Market, Consumer and Tourism Council was on 30 November in Brussels and was attended by my hon. Friend the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs.