Government’s tourism strategy is “risky”, says BHA

"Many of the recommendations resonate with the BHA's own report - Creating Jobs in Britain: a Hospitality Economy Proposition – which the association published last October," said Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive. "We are very pleased the government has taken many of them up. "And of course, we are delighted that the prime minister continues to be so committed to the industry." However, she said it was frustrating and self-defeating to have a grand design if one government policy pushed the industry forward and another policy dragged it back. "So we applaud the fact that this strategy is aimed at reaching across Whitehall but we are concerned that new policies empowering local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to support tourism may not be realised. "While the strategy is long on vision, it appears to be short on how that vision will be translated into reality." Ms Ibrahim was also concerned about the strategy's passing acknowledgment of the high rate of VAT. "VAT has become one of the most pressing issues facing the industry. The present high rate is making UK tourism very uncompetitive. In the latest World Economic Forum Global Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Monitor, the UK ranks 133rd out of 133 countries in terms of price competitiveness. "So we are spending £100m on seeking to attract 4 million additional visitors to the UK just at a time when the UK is bottom of the international price competitiveness league. This serious price disadvantage also encourages potential staycationers to vacation overseas. "This is completely counterproductive to the Prime Minister's objective to grow domestic tourism from 36% to 50% of total tourism spend by UK residents – an objective which we heartily applaud. We need far more action on this issue than the strategy seems willing to deliver."