The Visitor Economy and Devolution
Chris Bryant, the Tourism Minister, laid out a government ambition for the UK to achieve 50 million international visitors per year by 2030. This would represent a sizeable growth on the c.38 million visitors in 2023 or even the c. 41 million in those halcyon pre-pandemic days of 2019.
Achieving such a venerable goal will mean activity far beyond Whitehall is required – no one chooses their next overseas holiday based on the ambition of a government minister. Indeed, Mr Bryant used the Tourism Alliance – the industry’s national umbrella organisation – conference in December 2024 to make his announcement, which also included a commitment to a National Visitor Economy Strategy later this year and the establishment of an Advisory Council drawn from the sector.
Tourism is a local matter as much as a national one – and the domestic visitor market matters too. The De Bois Review in 2021 recommended a new structure of (regional) Destination Development Partnerships and (sub-regional) Local Visitor Economy Partnerships that is now being implemented. Amidst this, though, the proliferation of Mayors and Combined Authorities will have a huge impact.
Its easy to imagine Mayors taking on the convening role for DDPs or LVEPs where geographies align, seeking to incorporate them into their governance structures. Indeed, the West Midlands already offers a fine example of this, with the West Midlands Growth Company having DDP responsibility and undertaking work to promote tourism as part of its broader remit to encourage economic growth and investment in the region. Under the former Mayor, the West Midlands worked to encouraged tourism around filming locations in the area – a neat connection with the broader task of encouraging the development of creative industries locally.
Although all the metro Mayors have been keen to work on developing the visitor economy, relations between the industry and mayoralties can be sometimes tense. In Manchester, Andy Burnham has been advocating a mandatory tax on overnight stays, replacing the current £1 per night charge levied under Business Improvement District auspices. Trade bodies have been critical, estimating a 2.5% decline in visitors and the loss of £35 million of visitor spending per year. The Mayor contends that those visiting the city should contribute to service costs just as residents do, and just as many European cities account for in their own hotel taxes.
It’s a shame that the taxation debate will doubtless dominate headlines when it comes to devolution and the visitor economy (as we can also see in Wales, Edinburgh, and Glasgow), because there are opportunities for real innovation. As new Combined Authorities acquire more transport powers, the tourism sector has an opportunity to engage early in seeking to shape public transport policy around the visitor and leisure economy rather than just commuters. Similarly, following the West Midlands model in seeking to align a local tourist ‘offer’ to complement a broader economic agenda offers opportunities to get Mayors to act as champions for domestic and international tourism in their patches.
Ultimately, the emphasis on the visitor economy as a potential driver of local growth will rely on the disposition of the political leaders in any given area. But the potential is certainly there to have a more joined-up and innovative approach. As ever, though, local government (of whatever form) will need to find funding for its work…
Cratus Group recently joined the ‘Devolution & Local Government Reform – Impacts for Tourism’ webinar, hosted by the Tourism Alliance, where we provided valuable insights into the Government’s devolution and local government agenda, and the potential impacts on the tourism sector. You can watch it here.
