Will tourism be a battleground in the 2015 general election?
Tourism’s enhanced reputation as an economic driver and creator of jobs, together with its position as the lifeblood of a number of marginal constituencies, could see the sector enjoy increased recognition as political parties gear up for next year’s general election.
That is the view of Tourism Alliance policy director Kurt Janson, who the said the strong performance – from what is now Britain’s fifth largest export industry – throughout the recent recession will see the sector gain increased recognition.
Recent figures produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that total employment across the UK increased by 820,000 over 2013 – of which 120,000 jobs (15 per cent) were attributable to the UK tourism industry. With 39 per cent of these new tourism jobs going to people under the age of 30, the growth of the UK tourism industry is also one of the leading factors in the 20 per cent reduction in youth unemployment highlighted by the statistics.
Meanwhile, 2013 was a record for inbound UK tourism with 33 million people visiting and spending £21bn in the UK economy. The first six months of 2014 have also been strong for the industry with ONS figures showing that visitor numbers to the UK are up a further seven per cent so far this year, suggesting further increases in tourism-related employment.
Political parties already seem to be alive to the importance of the sector to the nation’s prospects, with shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman recently stating that tourism would play a ‘key role’ in Labour’s plans for growth and jobs if it returns to power. This followed a seminar featuring high-profile panelists at the recent Conservative Party Conference, which explored ways to unleash the growth potential of the industry.
Some of the key issues tourism businesses would like to see addressed in the party manifestos include support measures for seaside and rural tourism businesses, plans for increasing the UK’s airport capacity, considerations over the Cut Tourism VAT Campaign and whether there will be any further reforms to the Air Passenger Duty (APD).
“Tourism looks likely to feature in next year’s election due to increased recognition by all parties that the industry has been at the forefront of the UK’s economic recovery, having generated almost a third of all additional new jobs in the UK over the past three years,” said Janson.
“This is especially important because the key areas in which these jobs have been created – seaside and rural destinations – are the location of the marginal constituencies that will decide the election outcome. So look out for policies that will support rural businesses (e.g. rural broadband) and the regeneration of seaside towns when the manifestos are published.”
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