In his new role, Dermot King will join the BHA board of directors, working with BHA chairman Nick Varney, CEO Ufi Ibrahim and the Cut Tourism VAT campaign team. The campaign has a mission to ensure that the UK is more competitive in Europe with a lower tourism tax.
Dermot has been instrumental in driving the Cut Tourism VAT Campaign from its inception and it now has over 1,000 active hospitality and tourism campaigners and over 100 supporting MPs from all political parties.
Ufi Ibrahim said: “We are delighted to welcome Dermot as the new chairman of the Cut Tourism VAT campaign. The campaign is one of the BHA's top priorities and is attracting a ground-swell of grass roots support from hospitality and tourism businesses of all shapes and sizes right across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“Dermot's leadership will cement our past success and will help to rally even greater support to champion the reduction of Tourism VAT in the UK.
“We’d also like to sincerely thank outgoing chairman Graham Wason for his commitment to demonstrating the clear economic and political case for this measure to boost the economy.”
Dermot King said: “The evidence behind the benefits of a reduction of tourism VAT to businesses, the national economy and British families has never been clearer.
“The first year of the new Parliament presents an exciting opportunity, but our real goal is to win the hearts and minds of the British public who don’t realise that they are being taxed harder than almost anyone else in Europe for simply going on holiday in their own country.
“Graham Wason, who previously chaired the campaign, will continue to lead our vital research capabilities which shape the campaign's economic modelling and he remains a key figure in our discussions with HM treasury.”