As the UK tourism sector recovers from the pandemic, a Government minister has been told more must be done to\u00a0encourage international visitors.<\/p>\n
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee meeting, which took place on 5 July, highlighted the UK\u2019s decrease in visitor numbers compared with other countries.<\/p>\n
Additionally, tourism minister, Nigel Huddleston was questioned on why Government spending on international marketing is at a low level.<\/p>\n
In response, he said that while the \u00a341 million British Tourism Association (BTA) budget is \u201crelatively low\u201d in contrast to other countries, making an immediate comparison is hard\u00a0due to some UK regions doing their own promotion outside of the budget.<\/p>\n
Flight delays and cancellations<\/strong><\/p>\n Huddleston also blamed a shortage of airlift capacity for international tourists wishing to visit \u00a0the UK, as he argued it is being used up by Britons travelling abroad.<\/p>\n He commented: \u201cThe airports are very busy with outbound travel because one of the first things Brits have wanted to do when the pandemic was over was get on a plane and have a beach holiday.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mix of outbound versus inbound has had an impact in a way not every country had.\u201d<\/p>\n So, what can be done to improve tourist numbers?<\/p>\n Huddleston said: \u201cI would like us to spend more on international marketing, I think the\u00a0return on investment\u00a0is very compelling, but budgets are tight and there\u2019s only so much to go around.\u201d<\/p>\n What help is available for businesses?<\/strong><\/p>\n Retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, all of which contribute greatly to the tourism sector, are eligible for support in 2022-23 through the Government\u2019s temporary 50 per cent business rate discount<\/a>. This is capped at a maximum of \u00a3110,000.<\/p>\n If you are a tourism business who wants to take on more employees, the\u00a0Kickstart Scheme<\/a>\u00a0offers funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are risking long term unemployment.<\/p>\n