One of the main initiatives BALPPA is pushing is a reduction in VAT for attraction admission, which increase tourism earnings by up to £2bn
it will be this year, but I had to maintain a strong push to ensure it retained the pro- fi le it needed.” Another initiative Dawson’s promoting is to achieve a reduction in VAT paid on attraction admission. His aim is to get on par with the rest of Europe although this may clash with the new government’s short-term fi nancial plans. Undeterred, Dawson is embracing the government’s recognition of the importance of tour- ism and its wish to assist UK tourism to become more competitive. “That sits very comfortably with the VAT issue,” Dawson
AM 3 2010 ©cybertrek 2010
explains. “A reduction in VAT would be tax positive to the Exchequer, would create jobs and could increase tourism earnings by up to £2bn (US$2.96bn, 2.4bn). That’s a huge thing for the government to ignore.” Dawson has also made some progress
in getting relief from uniform business rates for piers, many of which are listed or very old and under private owner- ship, which means they’re not eligible for Heritage Lottery funding. “We fail to see the difference between the public and private sector when it
comes to supporting a project,” he says. “It doesn’t make any sense – it should be what the project is and what its value is to the public is, not whether its privately or publicly owned. This is clearly an issue Barratt feels
strongly about. “I was in the commercial attractions sector when the millennium was happening and it was hard work,” he says. “New attractions were opening where no commercial operator would invest in development – because they knew the site wouldn’t work. Operators who had such
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 51
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