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Tackling the problem of age discrimination
kurt jaNSON is policy director of Tourism Alliance
ONS reports tourism growth
New figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have reported an increase in both UK inbound visitor numbers and expenditure in 2011, when compared with 2010. Inbound growth has con-
T
he government has established the Red Tape Challenge under Oliver Letwin’s chairmanship to reduce the regulatory burden on
small firms, but there continues to be a procession of new legislation or retrograde changes to existing legislation. Much of this will have the effect of hindering the very growth that the government seeks. Take, for example, the announcements
that VAT will be applied to static caravans used for holiday letting and alterations to listed buildings, the imposition of a higher than expected duty on gaming machines and increases in fuel and alcohol duty – all of which will have a dampening effect on domestic holiday expenditure. Also on the horizon is the proposed
introduction of age discrimination leg- islation in October, which could have a significant impact on some tourism busi- nesses. Te legislation is being introduced due to concerns that elderly people were being unfairly excluded from some finan- cial and health products and services. However, rather than being targeted to solving specific problems, new legislation is to be applied to the provision of all goods and services to anyone over the age of 18. Te legislation will prevent firms lim-
iting the sale of services to specific age groups – although there will be an exemp- tion for products covered by Package Travel Regulations, such as Saga Holidays. Importantly, the legislation will also pre-
vent businesses imposing different terms and conditions on customers on the basis of age. It would not be possible for a busi- ness to ask customers for a larger deposit or to pay in advance on the basis of age unless they can prove “objective justifica- tion”. Objective justification means there is an evidence-based reason why the imposed condition is justified. For example, the owner of an historic hall could argue that it is valid to charge certain age groups more on the basis that they pose a greater risk. And therein lies the problem – it will be
leſt up to the law courts to decide whether the operator has provided enough evidence to come to this conclusion.
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tinued into the new year, with the number of visits by over- seas residents up 4 per cent in the year ending February 2012 to 30.9 million. In the 12 months ending
February 2012, the number of holiday trips was up 4 per cent to 12.1 million and visits to friends and relatives grew by 7 per cent to 9 million. ONS data also revealed that a decline in the
Visitor numbers to London grew during the first three quarters of 2011
number of North American visitor numbers was halted in 2011, with a 5.6 per cent increase on figures for the previous year. Elsewhere, visits from ‘other countries’ and European nations were up 9.3 and 1.3 per cent
respectively in 2011. However, only Europe delivered growth during Q4 2011. Te number of visits to London increased
during the first three quarters, before falling back in Q4. Trips to the rest of England showed signs of growth in all four quarters. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=L5y3a
VisitWales campaign given marketing award
A marketing campaign run by VisitWales and backed by Welsh actress Joanna Page has won the Gold Award at the Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Marketing Awards. Te “Proper Holiday” campaign featured a London man being surprised at his home and
then treated as a VIP guest of Wales. Te cam- paign strategy was to highlight the variety of activities available for visitors in Wales. It beat off competition from Royal Caribbean
International Cruises, the Star Alliance airline network and Visit Manchester.
‘Positive start’ to 2012 for Irish tourism
Tourism Ireland and the Irish government have welcomed a “positive start” to 2012 aſter inbound visitor numbers increased between December 2011 and February 2012. Central Statistics Office data
showed a 2.7 per cent growth in overseas visitor numbers, with “strong growth” from the UK and a 1 per cent increase from Europe, although the North American market dropped 4.3 per cent. Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s
minister for transport, tour- ism and sport, said: “Tis year has got off to a positive start, and it’s good to see visitor numbers continu- ing to grow into February.” Niall Gibbons, chief executive of national marketing agency Tourism Ireland added:
Read Leisure Opportunities online:
www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital Ireland has reported a strong increase in visitor numbers from the UK
“Particularly welcome is the growth of 6.6 per cent in visitor numbers from the UK, our largest and most important market.” Details:
http://lei.sr?a=C2p3d
Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2012
image: alex saberi/shutterstock
image: eoghan kavanagh/tourism ireland
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