NEWS


Reshuffle sees new tourism minister and culture secretary


By Samantha Mayling


Last month’s government reshuffle saw Michael Ellis become tourism minister, while Matt Hancock was promoted to culture secretary.


Ellis, MP for Northampton North,


took over from John Glen, who moved to become city minister. Hancock, MP for West Suffolk,


was promoted from his role as digital minister to replace Karen Bradley at the head of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. She moved to the Northern Ireland brief. Ellis said he met VisitBritain’s


chairman, Steve Ridgway, and chief executive Sally Balcombe on his first full day in office. He


Trade bodies to create a single hospitality voice


The British Hospitality Association (BHA) plans to merge with the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), to


have a “vital voice” when lobbying government. The merger will create UKHospitality, representing the UK’s third-largest private sector employer – which generates £130 billion of revenue each year. Members of both associations


will vote on the plans at extraordinary general meetings on February 21. Representing 700 operators across 65,000 sites, UKHospitality will be led by ALMR chief executive Kate Nicholls (pictured). It is not clear if BHA chief


executive Ufi Ibrahim will remain with UKHospitality. BHA chair and Merlin Entertainments chief executive Nick Varney will chair


UKHospitality. bha.org.uk almr.org.uk


6 TravelGBI | February 2018 Matt Hancock


was deputy leader of the House of Commons from July 2016 and was elected Conservative MP for Northampton North in May 2010. Tourism Alliance director Kurt


Janson pointed out that Glen was only in office for 209 days. “With the arrival of Michael


Ellis, the UK tourism industry will have had 10 tourism ministers in the last 10 years,” he said,


Michael Ellis


highlighting the difficulty of getting new ministers acquainted with the issues affecting tourism. UKinbound wrote to Hancock to


outline key issues in the industry, such as immigration and visas; access to a skilled workforce; Air Passenger Duty; the Tourism Sector Deal; and a “strong narrative promoting the UK as a welcoming destination”.


Richardson Hotels goes into administration over unpaid tax


Five seaside hotels in the family- owned Richardson Hotels business in southwest England have gone into administration, leaving pensioners fearing they may have lost money. Mark Boughey and Matthew


Wild from RSM Restructuring Advisory have been appointed joint administrators of Richardson Hotels Limited and Fowey Hotel Limited, which are subsidiaries of Richardson Hotels Holdings. The 46-bedroom Grosvenor


Hotel in Torquay – relaunched on February 2 as the John Burton- Race Restaurant with Rooms – is not included in the administration. The hotels under


administration include The Grand Hotel in Torquay, Devon; The Falmouth Hotel in Falmouth, Cornwall; and The Metropole Hotel in Padstow, Cornwall; which all sat within Richardson Hotels Limited; alongside Fowey Hotel


Limited’s The Royal Beacon Hotel in Exmouth, Devon; and The Fowey Hotel in Fowey, Cornwall. The five hotels will continue to


trade while the administrators assess future options. A Stourbridge coach holiday


firm, Group Travel Ltd, has ceased trading. The company’s head office was in Audnam, Stourbridge, and it had another office in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The Stourbridge News reported:


“Pensioners fear they have been left out of pocket after a long- running holiday company in Amblecote ceased trading. “Holidaymakers have been


contacting the News to say they have not been able to get hold of anyone from independent coach tour operator Group Travel Ltd.” The company was not a member


of the Coach Tourism Association nor the Association of Group Travel Organisers.


NEWS IN BRIEF


w VisitEngland campaign aims to beat the blues


VisitEngland released 24 short films by British and overseas Instagrammers and bloggers each hour during ‘Blue Monday’ (January 15). The ‘24 Hours in the UK’ films showcase


experiences across the UK. visitbritain.org


w Bath councillors plan to introduce tourist tax


Bath could become the first city in the UK to introduce a tourist tax, following the example of popular European destinations such as Paris, Rome and Venice. Bath and North East Somerset Council hopes to introduce a £1 per night ‘local tourism levy’ to generate about £2.4 million each year, “to be reinvested


into the local area”. bathnes.gov.uk


w Mark Hamill praises Ireland’s Star Wars role


More than four million people have watched Tourism Ireland’s promotional films, highlighting locations along the Wild Atlantic Way that


feature in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) said: “To come back to Ireland was a great treat for all of us because the beauty of that country is unmatched. You see vistas where I was sure it


was a special effect.” tourismireland.com


w Sign language tours at whisky attraction


The Scotch Whisky Experience has become the first visitor attraction in Edinburgh to offer whisky tours in British and American Sign Language. More than £50,000 has been invested in the audio guides which


feature tours in BSL and ASL. scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk


travelgbi.com


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