§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how often the resorts task force group has met since its creation; [17870]
(2) what work has been undertaken by the Resorts Task Force Group; and if she will make a statement. [17869]
§ Mr. CabornThe Resorts Task Force was set up by the English Tourism Council (ETC) in response to the Government's tourism strategy "Tomorrow's Tourism", published in 1999, which highlighted the regeneration of our traditional resorts as one of its 15 key action points. The Task Force's remit was to suggest ways in which resorts could be repackaged for tourism purposes and to highlight examples of best practice in successful resort regeneration for tourism.
The group met five times and in the light of its advice the English Tourism Council's published its Sea Changes report in February 2001. The Government have welcomed the report and this Department has asked the ETC to consider how it can best be implemented and to what timescale. To that end, the ETC is working closely with the British Resorts Association and relevant tourism officers.