UK tourism association UKinbound has rolled out its first activation as part of its updated advocacy campaign, writing to Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer MP and a number of newly appointed cabinet ministers to sow the seeds of a positive working relationship with the new government.
In its initial wave of communication, the association has written to the Prime Minister, chancellor and secretary of state for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. Letters to the tourism minister, aviation minister and immigration minister have been drafted and will be sent as soon as they are appointed.
In its letters, UKinbound outlined its desire to work collaboratively with the new government and stressed that inbound tourism is the UK’s second largest service export industry, exceeding the value of car and pharmaceutical exports, and a leading driver of economic growth in cities, towns, coastal and rural communities across the UK.
Alongside drawing attention to its manifesto, which the association launched in May this year, UKinbound highlighted a number of policy measures and reforms that could be rolled out relatively quickly and would positively impact businesses and jobs across the country.
These included –
• Expanding and reforming the Youth Mobility Scheme
• Extending passport-free travel schemes for under 18-year olds
• Creating home-grown talent with language skills
• Enhancing the UK’s competitiveness via a reduced-price five-year visitor visa
• Making the Electronic Travel Authorisation more competitive
• Boosting regional economic growth through the introduction of a new VAT Reclaim Scheme
• Reinstating national tourist board budgets to pre-inflationary levels to strengthen international marketing
The association also acknowledged that the wider tourism industry, inbound, outbound and domestic has a symbiotic relationship and asked the new government to listen, engage and collaborate with all factions of the industry.
Joss Croft OBE, CEO of UKinbound said “We would like to extend a warm welcome to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, his cabinet members and wider ministerial team.
“As the UK’s second largest service export industry, with potential to grow 20% by 2027, the inbound visitor economy is ideally placed to be a key driver of the government’s new growth mission.
“The majority of our policy ideas and reforms require no additional economic intervention, which we hope will be viewed favourably by this new government.
“With the right policy and regulatory frameworks in place, inbound tourism can have a sustainable long-term positive impact on regional economies up and down the country and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“We are committed to working constructively with this new government and look forward to developing a long-term collaborative relationship.”
Over the summer months UKinbound will be expanding its government engagement and plans to liaise with the Department of Education and Department for Business and Trade regarding the long-term growth of the sector.
The association will also be empowering its members, by providing tools that will allow them to engage with their local MPs and educate them about how the inbound visitor economy supports jobs and growth in their constituency.
