TOURISM Autumn Statement: No VAT cut
George Osborne’s last Autumn Statement before the 2015 General Election brought good news for small businesses and the aviation industry, but calls for a VAT reduction for the tourism industry fell on deaf ears. The Cut Tourism VAT
campaign – which wants to see VAT cut from 20 per cent to five per cent for tour- ism businesses to place the UK on a level playing field against rival European des- tinations – last week urged Osborne to embrace a move it says would create more than 100,000 jobs in regions outside of London. A spokesperson for the VAT campaign told
Is the recovery bad news for tourism?
KURT JANSON is policy director of the Tourism Alliance
Chancellor George Osborne ignored tourismVAT cut pleas Another campaign member – B&B
Leisure Opportunities that Osborne’s refusal to budge was “disappointing” and amounted to a “missed opportunity” to boost inbound tourism and create jobs in regions outside of London. Merlin Entertainments chair Nick Varney has been announced as chair of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) from next month and has outlined gaining traction on the VAT issue ahead of the May General Election as one of his key priorities.
Association CEO David Weston – said: “Despite considerable support from MPs for a tourism VAT cut, the chancellor has refused to introduce a policy that would allow B&B owners to expand, hire and invest, bringing immense benefits to their local communities.” Elsewhere, there was some cheer for tour
operators as Osborne gave further ground on Air Passenger Duty (APD), announcing that it would be scrapped for children aged under 12 from May 2015. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=Q6U6k
Tourism contest for VIP London experience
London tourism chiefs have created a two-week long lifestyle package fit for any A-list celebrity as part of a prize which will be offered to the city’s most enthusiastic visitor. Following hot on the furry heels
of its Paddington Bear tourism cam- paign, VisitLondon has teamed up with VisitBritain for a competition to find London’s Guest of Honour. Te winner, and their plus one,
will get to raise Tower Bridge; fire the guns from HMS Belfast; be a keeper for the day at ZSL London Zoo; have tea at Lord’s cricket ground with Downton Abbey’s but- ler; tour the Science Museum with Professor Stephen Hawking; ace Wimbledon with Tim Henman; and see behind the scenes at the Royal Opera House with Placido Domingo and Darcey Bussell as guides. Tese, among other unique experiences, will happen over two weeks in February 2015. “We’re looking for someone to discover
the city as never before,” said a spokesper- son from VisitLondon. “Tey will get to meet
© CYBERTREK 2014
August. As they cover the main summer period, they give a strong indication of the final 2014 results. And the news is not good. Te year to date figures show that UK
T
residents took 5.3m fewer overnight trips to the end of August compared to the same period in 2013 – which, it should be remem- bered, was down 3 per cent on 2012. So it would be fair to say that over the last two years, the number of domestic trips will be down by 7 per cent and that expenditure will be down by about the same amount. Tis means that the domestic tourism
industry will generate about £1.4bn less in 2014 than it did in 2012, meaning that it is able to sustain around 26,000 fewer jobs. Tis is in considerable contrast to the
period from 2010 to 2013 when the domes- tic tourism industry was booming as a result of the “staycation” effect. So the question is, with the economy recovering, why is domestic tourism on the wane? Te answer to this is two-fold. On the
one hand, people who can least afford to take a holiday have not seen their wages increase and are therefore spending less and less on holidays. Separately, those with more discretionary expenditure are finding that with the recovery, the value of the pound is increasing again and that this makes holidays overseas more affordable than they were a couple of years ago. Tis is clear from the data which shows that UK residents took 1.4m more overseas trips so far this year than they did in 2013. With Europe heading back into reces-
VisitLondon is looking for the city’s most enthusiastic tourist
our most famous residents, enjoy behind the scenes access to iconic locations and expe- rience a series of amazing magic moments.” The guest of honour will be required
to report on their experiences in a fly-on- the-wall style documentary which will then be used to promote London world- wide through the GREAT Britain campaign. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=n6q4R
Twitter: @leisureopps
sion, and the value of the euro decreasing as a result, the prospects for the domes- tic tourism industry during 2015 look bleak. Te competitive disadvantages busi- nesses face, such as paying full-rate VAT on accommodation and attractions com- pared to other European destinations will re-emerge and encourage those that can afford to take holidays to go for the cheaper option on the continent. Something the abolition of Air Passenger Duty for chil- dren (see story top leſt) will exacerbate.
Read Leisure Opportunities online:
www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital 13
he latest domestic tourism fig- ures have been released by VisitEngland and span from the start of the year to the end of
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