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Tourism Policy
DCMS is responsible for supporting the tourism industry at national level, and for putting regional and local support for the sector into a strategic context. To that end, DCMS Ministers put in place a wideranging tourism reform programme in 2002. This programme is based on a strong relationship with our partners in both public and private sectors, and is driven by improvements in delivery in key areas. Its main points are as follows:
- VisitBritain was established as a strategic, marketing-focussed body in April 2003, bringing together the former English Tourism Council and the British Tourist Authority
- Regional Development Agencies now have strategic responsibility for tourism in their regions
- Major reviews have been carried out in accommodation quality and business data, in close consultation with the industry and the wider sector. Both reported in Spring 2004
- The Tourism Alliance was established in 2001as the voice of the tourism sector, with a remit to represent the sector's views and concerns more effectively to the Government
- People1st was launched in May 2004 as the new Sector Skills Council for Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure sectors
Much of this work has drawn on the Government's overall strategy for the development of tourism in England, set out in Tomorrow's Tourism in 1999. That strategy remains valid. However, the progress of the reform programme demonstrated a need for a new statement of the roles and responsibilities of DCMS and its key partners in areas which the Government and the industry together agreed were vital to delivering progress. These are:
- Marketing and e-tourism
- Product quality
- Workforce skills
- Improved data
- Advocacy across Government
This statement was published as Tomorrow's Tourism Today PDF (528kb) in July 2004, setting out the key actions of DCMS, VisitBritain, the RDAs, local government and the Tourism Alliance in building on the progress already made under the reform programme.
Progress in these areas is being overseen and monitored by a new Tourism Review and Implementation Group (TRIG), announced in July 2004. Including key partners from the industry, the public sector and academia, TRIG is considering wider, structural issues affecting the sector alongside its work on the key drivers. TRIG is expected to report back to DCMS Ministers in mid 2005.
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