HC Deb 08 September 2003 vol 410 cc29-30W
Mr. Moss

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action the Government are taking to make the British tourism industry more competitive. [128574]

Mr. Caborn

The Government are encouraging competitiveness in the tourism industry by concentrating on measures that will encourage improvements to the quality of the product offered by individual tourism businesses through improvement in the skills base across the sector and encouraging effective investment in quality.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport works with other Whitehall Departments to ensure that issues such as planning policy reform meets the industry's needs and removes barriers to investment in the more productive types of tourism businesses. The Department is also represented on the board of the Best Practice Forum, which is part-funded by the Department for Trade and Industry. The Forum's Profit Through Productivity initiative provides business and enterprise support for the sector and aims to raise competitiveness and productivity across the sector.

Mr. Flook

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contribution in percentage terms was made by tourism in the South West to GDP in each financial year since 1997. [127820]

Mr. Caborn

Sub-national data of tourism's contribution to GDP are not generally available. South West Tourism is however currently producing a report on the economic value of tourism to the region which, I understand, is due to be published within the next month.

Mr. Flook

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists from overseas visited the South West in each financial year since 1997; and what percentage of overseas tourists to the UK this represented in each case. [127821]

Mr. Caborn

These data are shown in the table.

Financial year Staying visits by overseas tourists to the South West (million) As a percentage of all staying visits by overseas tourists to the UK (percentage)
1997–98 1.88 9.0
1998–99 2.04 9.3
1999–2000 1.97 8.4
2000–01 1.99 8.6
2001–021 1.73 8.4
1 Provisional

Source:

International Passenger Survey, National Statistics