Tourism Alliance update

In this update:

Less than three weeks to go to English Tourism Week
All eyes on next week’s Budget statement
Coastal Tourism debate in HoC
Four more LVEPs announced
Home Office Fire Safety Reform Programme Bulletin

Less than three weeks to go to English Tourism Week

In less than three weeks we’ll be gathering for the Tourism Insights Conference and the English Tourism Week Parliamentary Reception.

If you have not yet booked your ticket, why not do so now?

📅 19th March 2024
⏰ 0930-1400
🏢 No. 4 Hamilton Place, Mayfair,

London – home of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

💷 £205-£295+VAT

Tickets and the full programme are available here

We’re currently putting the finishing touches on our Tourism Industry Manifesto which we will be launching at the reception on the 19th. The manifesto will be packed with suggestions about how the tourism industry – with strong Government support – can drive economic growth.

We are pleased to say that we will be joined at the Parliamentary Reception by the Tourism Minister, Julia Lopez MP, and the Shadow Tourism Minister, Barbara Keeley MP as well as a lot of MPs from across the House who want to come and celebrate the tourism industry in their area and throughout the country.

Julia Lopez Barbara Keeley MP

Tourism Minister Shadow Tourism minister

All eyes on next week’s Budget statement

Next Wednesday, 6th March, the Chancellor will deliver his much-anticipated Budget statement. We will be analysing the Budget for anything that is relevant and will circulate a TA Newsflash later in the day.

We will be looking out for announcements in any of the key areas which we urged the Treasury to focus on in our Budget submission:

The establishment of a new tax-free shopping regime for international visitors
The need for continued business rates relief and longer-term reform
The need to review and lower visitor visa costs
The impact of Air Passenger Duty on our price competitive as a destination
The need for a VAT cut for tourism businesses

The benefits of boosting VisitBritain’s international marketing budget

Coastal Tourism debate in HoC

For those who missed it, last week Selaine Saxby MP (Cons; North Devon) held a Westminster Hall debate into coastal tourism and hospitality. This was a great debate and an opportunity for MPs to highlight the support that the sector in MPs’ local areas needs now and into the future, with one eye on the upcoming budget, and many MPs reiterated the need for policies we and many others in the industry submitted to the Treasury.

You can read the full debate in Hansard

Re-watch the debate via Parliament Live