Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Tourism Industry: Covid-19

Thursday 1 July 2021 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government published a tourism recovery plan to support the sector's recovery to pre-pandemic levels.
  • Over 25 billion of support has been provided to the tourism, hospitality, and leisure sectors.
  • Discussions are ongoing to reopen international travel safely to protect and grow UK tourism jobs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Gordon Henderson Con
Business & Trade
Context

The MP is concerned about the impact of the pandemic on the UK's tourism sector and asks what steps are being taken to support its recovery.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to support the recovery of the tourism industry from the covid-19 pandemic. I am concerned about the significant financial strain that the hospitality, tourism, and leisure sectors have faced due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions.

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

We recognise the impact of covid-19 on the tourism industry, which is why we published the tourism recovery plan to help the sector to return to pre-pandemic levels as quickly as possible and build back better for the future. The Government have already provided over £25 billion of support to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask was not fully addressed as it did not provide details on ongoing steps or timelines for recovery actions beyond mentioning a plan and previous funding provided.

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Q2 Caroline Ansell Con
Employment Business & Trade
Context

The MP thanks the Minister for his visit to her constituency and raises concerns about a shortage of hospitality workforce recruits, asking for plans to promote careers in this sector.

Question

I thank my hon. Friend for his answer and for his visit last week to my beautiful constituency of Eastbourne, where he will have seen no shortage of ambition or potential—only a shortage of new recruits to the hospitality workforce. What plans do he and the Department have to promote careers in hospitality and tourism, which is a vital sector in the UK and in Eastbourne? Would maintaining the 5% VAT rate help employers to offer ever more competitive wages?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

I know what a great champion my hon. Friend is for tourism and international travel, as we heard at Prime Minister's questions yesterday. He is right that inbound tourism is vital. A lot of talk has been about outbound tourism, which is also a really important sector, but, in 2019, 40 million visitors came to the UK, spent money and had a great time.

Not addressed: The questioner's specific ask was completely avoided. The response discussed general tourism statistics without addressing career promotion or VAT rate issues.

How: Changed Subject Entirely

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Q3 Henry Smith Con
Business & Trade
Context

The MP highlights the importance of inbound tourism to the UK economy and asks about discussions with other Departments on reopening safe international travel.

Question

Inbound tourism in normal times contributes about £28 billion to the UK economy. What discussions has my hon. Friend had with other Departments about reopening safe international travel so that UK tourism jobs can be protected and indeed grown as we go forward?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

I know what a great champion my hon. Friend is for tourism and international travel, as we heard at Prime Minister's questions yesterday. He is right that inbound tourism is vital. A lot of talk has been about outbound tourism, which is also a really important sector, but, in 2019, 40 million visitors came to the UK, spent money and had a great time.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask regarding discussions on international travel reopening was not addressed with any concrete details or timeline. Instead, general tourism statistics were provided without addressing the questioner's request for information on cross-governmental talks.

How: General Statements

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Q4 Gordon Henderson Con
Economy Transport
Context

The MP is concerned about directing visitors to seaside communities with high levels of social deprivation and asks for support in getting a brown tourist sign on the M2 to showcase attractions.

Question

As more people decide to holiday at home in the UK, we have a golden opportunity to improve the economy of our seaside communities, some of which have high levels of social deprivation. However, to direct visitors to those areas, we need more brown tourist signs on motorways and major trunk roads. What support can my hon. Friend give to the campaign in my constituency to get Highways England to put up a brown tourist sign on the M2 to showcase the many wonderful attractions on the Isle of Sheppey?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

I commend my hon. Friend for his work on behalf of tourism businesses on the Isle of Sheppey. The purpose of brown signs is primarily to direct road users to a tourism attraction or facility to aid the efficient management of traffic.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask was not fully addressed as no concrete support for the campaign was provided, only an explanation of the purpose and decision-making process regarding brown signs.

How: Hedging Language

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Q5 Alex Sobel Labour (Co-op) Leeds Central and Headingley
Business & Trade
Context

The MP speaks to industry leaders who are underwhelmed by the government's tourism recovery plan and asks what specific sector support is planned.

Question

I have been speaking to leaders in the tourism industry who are distinctly underwhelmed by the Minister's tourism recovery plan. An inclusivity ambassador, a rail pass and £10 million of vouchers is not the level of ambition that they were expecting from the much vaunted plan. In particular, coach operators, fairgrounds and tour guides missed out on support during the pandemic. What sector-specific support does the Minister plan to give to those areas that missed out on support during the lockdown and pandemic and had to suffer through three consecutive winters with a lack of support from the Government?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

To date, as the hon. Member will be aware, the Government have provided more than £25 billion of support for the tourism, hospitality and leisure sector. That may not be appreciated by him but I know it has been by the sector as a whole. We are continuing to give support and that number will go up considerably.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about plans for additional support was not addressed with concrete details or commitments, only a general statement of ongoing support without specifics.

How: General Statements

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