september 2006 NEWSLETTER
April 2005
2012 tourism strategy Meeting
The Tourism Alliance is co-sponsoring a major meeting to discuss the development of the Government's Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Olympic Games (Welcome>Legacy) on 9th October 2006 at the Sofitel St James Hotel in London.
The consultation on developing a tourism strategy for the Games, and its subsequent development and implementation, is one of the most important issues affecting the tourism industry as the strategy will dictate Government’s tourism priorities over the next seven years.
The meeting will debate issues such as how the industry can best respond to the questions posed in the consultation document, what must be done to make the most of opportunity presented by hosting the Olympics and what are the key issues that need to be addressed in order to maximise the benefit to the industry. The discussion will be lead by senior representatives from the sponsor organisations.
Click Here for a copy of the booking form for the event
Bed Tax update
The Tourism Alliance continues to lobby against the introduction of a bedtax with briefings for politicians and interviews for various media including the BBC and Financial Times.
Rather than imposing another tax on the industry, the solution to the funding issue would be for Local Authorities to be able to retain a proportion of the business rates that they collect. These funds could be used to develop and improve local services and facilities, which would make the destination more attractive to visitors who, in turn, would come in increased numbers and spend more with local businesses. Increased visitor expenditure would stimulate the establishment of new businesses that would provide increased business rate funding for Local Authorities to continue with the regeneration work.
Creating such a virtuous circle is the answer to the funding issue – not imposing a tax that acts as a disincentive to growth and investment.
EU Services directive – progress !
The EU Services Directive has been a bit of a slow train coming. First agreed to in 2000, its development has recently starting to pick up speed with the European Parliament undertaking its first reading of the draft Directive in February and about to undertake the second reading in November.
The Directive aims to make it easier for businesses to trade in services in other EU Member States and will be particularly important to the tourism industry which undertakes cross border tours and marketing activities. Indeed, DTI see the tourism industry as being one of the key beneficiaries of the new directive when it is implemented.
Click Here to find out more about the directive and its impact on tourism
Good Practice Guide distributed
The Tourism Alliance has been working with BH&HPA to send out over 13,000 free copies of the Department for Communities and Local Government’s (formerly ODPM) Good Practice Guide on Planning for Tourism to planning professions in local authorities throughout the country. This is part of a push to get the new guidance introduced, understood and adopted into local and regional planning documents – something that is particularly important as PPG21 on Tourism was withdrawn on 1 September 2006.
Included with the free copies of the Guide is a joint coverletter from the Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism, Shaun Woodward, and former Tourism Alliance Chairman, Brigid Simmonds, on the importance of the new Guide for regional tourism development.
Click Here for a down-loadable copy of the new Guide
new EU Disabled traveller regulations
Following problems that have arisen over the past few years regarding disabled airline passengers, especially the division of responsibilities between the airline operators and the airport operators, the European Parliament has entered the fray with new regulations. From July 2007, new rules will be introduced to protect disabled passengers from discrimination and, from July 2008, airport operators and airline operators will be required to provide high quality assistance to disabled passengers.
The regulations state that disabled passengers can not be refused passage unless on the grounds of specific safety issues and that high quality assistance must be provided to board and depart the aircraft and airport. This assistance must be provided either free of charge or through a levy on all passengers and is, in the main, the responsibility of the airport operator.
Click Here for a copy of the Regulations
Annual Leave consultation meetings
To supplement the written consultation on increasing the holiday entitlement of employees, the Department for Trade and Industry is holding a series of consultation meetings for employers around England and Wales.
The dates for the meetings are;
- Swansea (7th September)
- Exeter (12 September),
- Manchester (14 September) and
- London (19 September)
To reserve a place please email specifying the event you wish to attend and including your full contact details.
If you are representing an organisation or business, it would be helpful if you could let them know what sector you cover and whether you are a micro (up to 9 staff), small (up to 50 staff), medium (up to 250 staff) or large business (over 250 staff).
To reserve a place for the Swansea meeting, telephone Gwyn Roberts on 0207 270 0580 or email , specifying your wish to attend and including your full contact details.
new Fire Regulations almost here
A final reminder on the introduction of the new Fire Safety Regulative Reform Order on 1 October 2006 is warranted. The new Order affects almost all tourism businesses and replaces existing legislation including the issuing of fire certificates.
The new Order states that “the person(s) responsible for the building must carry out a risk assessment of the premises and then act on and record the results”. This means that every business must put together a fire safety policy document which should include the risk assessment and the actions taken as a result of the assessment, a plan of the premises and actions to be taken in case of an emergency.
In the event of a fire or rescue operation, this document would be required to be handed to the fire services to show that the person responsible for the premises took adequate steps to avoid a fire and protect staff and customers.
Click Here for a copy of the guidance on developing a fire safety policy.
Sustainable Tourism Conference
DCMS's Tourism Review Implementation Group subcommittee on sustainable tourism is holding a one-day conference on 1 November 2006 to highlight a three part model it has developed to initiate, support and reward businesses in moving towards sustainable practice.
The proceedings of the conference will also be used in the revision of the Destination
Management Handbook, which planned for next year.
Click Here for a copy of the conference programme and booking form.
The Tourism Alliance
The Tourism Alliance is the Voice of the Tourism Industry.
Established in 2001 with the support of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Tourism Alliance comprises almost 50 Tourism Industry Organisations that together represent some 200,000 businesses of all sizes throughout the UK.
The purpose of the Tourism Alliance is to identify and develop policies and strategies to raise standards and promote quality within the industry and work with and lobby government on all key issues relevant to the growth and development of tourism and its contribution to the economy.
Chairman: Tony Millns
Policy Director: Kurt Janson
Email:
Telephone: 020 7395 8246 Fax: 020 7395 8178 Mobile: 07964428123
Website:
Tourism Alliance: Centre Point, 103 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1DU
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