§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the merger between the British Tourism Authority and the English Tourist Council. [147249]
§ Mr. CabornOn 31 October 2002, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a radical reform of tourism support in Britain aimed at building stronger, more effective and more coherent arrangements through the creation of a single lead body focusing on marketing. Functions of the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council were merged on 1 April 2003 to form VisitBritain, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State appointed Sir Michael Lickiss as Chairman.
VisitBritain restructured its overseas operations during 2003. In addition to promoting Britain overseas as a tourist destination, VisitBritain is taking forward its new role as lead body for the domestic marketing of England. The England Marketing Advisory Board (EMAB), chaired by Hugh Taylor, was established on 1 April 2003 to advise the Board of VisitBritain on domestic marketing, and its domestic marketing strategy was published in November 2003. With EMAB's support, VisitBritain has launched a series of domestic 'Enjoy England' campaigns.
The merger enables VisitBritain to use in the domestic market its expertise in marketing Britain internationally, developing more effective partnerships with private investors to support tourism across Britain and building on the success of the Million Visitor Campaign. It brings economies in terms of overheads and central services and it creates opportunities for private industry and the regions to take a stronger leadership role in setting the marketing agenda.
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§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how the tourism satellite accounts will be of assistance to the tourism industry. [147254]
§ Mr. CabornTourism satellite accounts will deliver both improved and more extensive information on the economic value of the tourism sector. Tourism satellite accounts will facilitate the production of much improved estimates of quantities such as value added and employment in the tourism industry, and its linkages with the wider economy.
The tourism industry will benefit directly from this enhanced source of information to assist their business planning and decision-making, and indirectly from decisions taken by public bodies that are informed by this new substantial information source.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which bodies will be consulted on the implementation of the tourism satellite accounts. [147255]
§ Mr. CabornThe management group of the UK Tourism Satellite Account First Steps Project are currently considering a draft consultation plan.
This proposes a list of consultees which includes the Office for National Statistics as well as the following groups of organisations: devolved administrations, international organisations, regional development agencies, tourist boards, and the tourism industry through trade associations.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the estimated cost of implementing the tourism satellite accounts is; [147256]
(2) when she expects the tourism satellite accounts to be completed; and if she will make a statement. [147257]
§ Mr. CabornThe cost of the UK Tourism Satellite Account First Steps project, which has just begun, will be £75,000.
As well as providing provisional figures for the main parts of a tourism satellite account, the project will deliver a report describing further work and data collection that would be required to subsequently develop a full tourism satellite account. This will also give an estimate of the costs that this would incur and the expected time-scale. This phase of the work will be completed by early autumn 2004.