PRESS RELEASES
BARBARA CASSANI CONFIRMED AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT UKINBOUND CONVENTION
08/12/2008
UKinbound is delighted to announce that business chief Barbara Cassani will provide the keynote address at its 2009 Convention taking place in February in Manchester.
The trade association hopes th...
BARBARA CASSANI CONFIRMED AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT UKINBOUND CONVENTION
08/12/2008
UKinbound is delighted to announce that business chief Barbara Cassani will provide the keynote address at its 2009 Convention taking place in February in Manchester.
The trade association hopes that with Cassani’s varied knowledge of the tourism industry and her vast entrepreneurial experience, she will be able be to provide its members with business solutions and optimism in the face of economic gloom. Cassani will join other high-profile speakers at the annual event including Lord Sebastian Coe, Tobias Ellwood MP and Don Foster MP.
The founder and former Chief Executive of Go, BA’s budget airline, was also leader of the London 2012 Bid Team, and non-executive Chairman of Spanish airline Vueling. Cassani is now serving as the Chair of hotel chain and UKinbound member Jurys Inns.
Barbara Cassani said:
“Overseas visitors to UK are incredibly important to Jurys Inns, so I’m delighted to be able to address UKinbound’s members at their Convention in February.”
Mary Rance Chief Executive of UKinbound said:
“Barbara Cassani will be a fantastic addition to the UKinbound Convention programme. She has had immeasurable success at leading businesses and will be able to inspire our members during this time of financial worry.”
The annual event will this year take place from the 11th to 13th February at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly. The event is supported by Marketing Manchester, Ramada Jarvis, Tourism Ireland and Hard Rock Cafe.
For further details of the event please click here or email info@ukinbound.org.
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LORD COE TO CLOSE UKINBOUND CONVENTION
11/11/2008
On Monday 10 November at World Travel Market, UKinbound announced details of its 2009 Convention, which will include a special closing ceremony presided over by Lord Sebastian Coe.
Supported by Mar...
LORD COE TO CLOSE UKINBOUND CONVENTION
11/11/2008
On Monday 10 November at World Travel Market, UKinbound announced details of its 2009 Convention, which will include a special closing ceremony presided over by Lord Sebastian Coe.
Supported by Marketing Manchester, the three-day event will take place from 11 to 13 February at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly and will include a business-to-business workshop, familiarisation trips of the surrounding area, a Gala Dinner and UKinbound’s Annual Award Ceremony.
The Convention already has other high profile speakers confirmed including Don Foster MP and Tobias Ellwood MP who will both feature in a ‘Question Time’-style political debate and with innovation as a key theme, delegates will also be able to choose from sessions including the future of rail passenger travel and how to market your business during the credit crunch and still make money.
For further details of the event please click here or email info@ukinbound.org.
LATEST BUSINESS BAROMETER AVAILABLE
27/10/2008
Each month UKinbound produces a Business Barometer based on a confidential online survey of members, comparing visitor numbers and booking forecasts with a corresponding period in the previous year.
...
LATEST BUSINESS BAROMETER AVAILABLE
27/10/2008
Each month UKinbound produces a Business Barometer based on a confidential online survey of members, comparing visitor numbers and booking forecasts with a corresponding period in the previous year.
Please click here for this month's and previous month's results.
UKINBOUND WELCOMES NEW TOURISM MINISTER
06/10/2008
UKinbound has welcomed the appointment of Barbara Follett MP as the new Minister for Culture, the Creative Industries and Tourism, announced today.
Mary Rance Chief Executive said: “We welcome B...
UKINBOUND WELCOMES NEW TOURISM MINISTER
06/10/2008
UKinbound has welcomed the appointment of Barbara Follett MP as the new Minister for Culture, the Creative Industries and Tourism, announced today.
Mary Rance Chief Executive said: “We welcome Barbara Follett MP to her new role and look forward to working with her to ensure that the views of tourism businesses are finally heard by Government.
“Inbound tourism generates £18 billion a year in export earnings but its value and importance are often ignored within Whitehall. The Home Office, the Treasury and even DCMS, through its budget cuts of VisitBritain, have continued to hinder export tourism but we hope that the new Tourism Minister will be an effective advocate of the industry and will help remove some of the barriers placed in its way by Government.”
The trade association will continue to lobby Government on the high level of taxes levied against overseas visitors who are, on average, charged £207 per person in visas, taxes and other Government charges. This is much higher than our European counterparts, and this hugely damaging to the UK’s ability to compete as a destination.
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For further information, or to arrange an interview with Mary Rance, UKinbound Chief Executive please contact:
Helen James
Tel: 020 7395 7505
Notes to Editors
A UK visa costs £65, compared to a Schengen area visa, which permits entry to 21 European countries, at E60 (£47)
Inbound tourism is the UK’s third largest export industry generating over £18 billion in export earning from 32 million international visitors to the UK in 2007 (ONS International passenger Survey).
UKinbound was set up in 1977 and is the only trade association that represents the UK’s export tourism businesses.
DCMS STATEMENT MISGUIDED
20/08/2008
UKinbound has condemned the Government’s latest comments that the industry should be responsible for marketing the UK in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games.
Criticism has been mounting again th...
DCMS STATEMENT MISGUIDED
20/08/2008
UKinbound has condemned the Government’s latest comments that the industry should be responsible for marketing the UK in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games.
Criticism has been mounting again this week against the funding cuts to VisitBritain, by the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). The funding decrease of around one fifth over three years, was announced last October just weeks after the publication of a Government funded report , which stated that staging the 2012 Games could generate a massive net increase in tourism revenue of £2.1 billion, but only if sufficient resources were allocated and a suitable structure was put in place.
The cuts have been questioned by industry and were also recently criticised by the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee’s report into tourism. Without sufficient funding, the Committee said there is a danger of missing an opportunity to showcase London and the UK on the world’s stage during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A DCMS spokesperson this week said in response to the debate over VisitBritain’s funding cuts:
“By securing the 2012 Games for Britain we have provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our tourism industry. It is now up to the industry to make the most of the Games.”
Stephen Dowd Chief Executive of UKinbound responded:
“DCMS is being characteristically disingenuous in claiming they were responsible for securing the 2012 Olympic Games for London but arguing that tourism businesses should be responsible for destination marketing shows just how little the department responsible for tourism really understands the industry.
“The tourism industry, the majority of which is made up of small businesses, simply does not have the capacity or the expertise for the international marketing of the UK as a tourism destination. This should be centrally coordinated and undertaken by the national tourist board, which is the only viable and indeed best-practice model that is used by the world’s top tourism destinations, and the UK should be no different.
“Is it too much to expect that in return for the £2.9Bn a year in taxes levied on international visitors and inbound tourism businesses by Government we should, at the very least, have a properly funded national tourist board that can deliver a consistent message to our overseas markets and grasp, for the UK economy, opportunities such as the 2012 Games.
“The Government must really understand that infrastructure will not boost tourism on its own. If the world is unaware of the fantastic facilities here in the UK then they simply will not come and visit.”
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UKINBOUND CELEBRATES TO THE SOUND OF MUSIC
28/07/2008
Trade association UKinbound last week celebrated the achievements of the inbound tourism industry and the importance of musical theatre in tourism at their annual Summer Ball, held on Thursday at the ...
UKINBOUND CELEBRATES TO THE SOUND OF MUSIC
28/07/2008
Trade association UKinbound last week celebrated the achievements of the inbound tourism industry and the importance of musical theatre in tourism at their annual Summer Ball, held on Thursday at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
The industry partied in style at the musical-themed event with Aiofe Mulholland, star of the Sound of Music, who thanked guests for their support of the London’s west end theatre productions.
During the evening the popular travel trade personality Joy Perrett of Hilton Hotels, who retires in September, was made an honorary member of the association in recognition of the valuable contribution she has made over many years to both the industry and the association.
The event was sponsored by the Really Useful Theatre Company, Dewynters Tourism and Barceló Hotel and Resorts.
NEW UKINBOUND CEO APPOINTED
22/07/2008
UKinbound has announced that Mary Rance, a former CBI Regional Director and charity CEO, will replace Stephen Dowd as Chief Executive.
Mary, who takes up the post on 15 September 2008, joins UKinb...
NEW UKINBOUND CEO APPOINTED
22/07/2008
UKinbound has announced that Mary Rance, a former CBI Regional Director and charity CEO, will replace Stephen Dowd as Chief Executive.
Mary, who takes up the post on 15 September 2008, joins UKinbound with an impressive track record, including the CBI’s London Director, and senior appointments with the General Insurance Standard Council and the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. Mary’s current role is Chief Executive of Toc H, a charity which she led for two years.
An experienced high level strategist, operational manger and lobbyist in the private and voluntary sectors, Mary also originally trained as a lawyer. The UKinbound Board of Directors is confident that these impressive credentials will enable Mary to lead the association and build on the work undertaken by her predecessors.
Philip Green Chairman of UKinbound said:
“The recruitment panel met some very talented candidates and we believe Mary has the qualities we are looking for at this time. She brings with her excellent all round experience in lobbying, networking and membership management. We are sure Mary is the right person to lead the association.”
Mary Rance said:
“I am delighted to be joining UKinbound at this significant and challenging time for inbound tourism. With the growing economic, environmental and regulatory pressures faced by the industry, I will strive to ensure that the agenda and profile of UKinbound remain at the forefront of Government thinking.”
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UKINBOUND SHOCK AT GOVERNMENT U-TURN ON VISA PACT
16/07/2008
UKinbound has expressed its shock at the Government’s decision to scrap a visa waiver agreement for 11 countries, and says the move could damage trade relations and outbound tourism as well as badly...
UKINBOUND SHOCK AT GOVERNMENT U-TURN ON VISA PACT
16/07/2008
UKinbound has expressed its shock at the Government’s decision to scrap a visa waiver agreement for 11 countries, and says the move could damage trade relations and outbound tourism as well as badly affecting inbound tourism from some key emerging markets.
The Home Office and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) last week announced that in early 2009 they intend to re-introduce visas for 11 countries which currently have visa waiver agreements with the UK Government. This was, they said, due to those countries not meeting the “strict criteria to determine the level of risk they pose to the UK in terms of illegal immigration, crime and security standards set by the UK Government” and would “introduce visa requirements for short-term visitors from these countries unless they significantly reduce the risk they pose to the UK by the end of the year”. Such a move is unprecedented and, if implemented, is likely to result in reciprocal action from the countries concerned.
The 11 countries named by the Home Office are Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
UKinbound is concerned about the impact this will have on export tourism. Three of the 11 countries targeted, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa, are key emerging markets who in 2006 accounted for 548,000 visitors to the UK worth over £456 million in foreign currency earning. Residents of these countries will certainly reconsider choosing the UK if the onerous biometric visa application process at £65 per person is added to the cost of their holiday. These three countries and Trinidad and Tobago are also a huge part of the visiting friends and family market, which is estimated at around 30% of all inbound visits, and could also suffer as a consequence.
But this issue should also be of concern for British citizens trading with or wishing to travel to these countries. The very real possibility of new visa requirements for UK travellers could mean a huge increase in cost and inconvenience for business trips and tourists wishing to visit some of their favourite destinations.
Stephen Dowd Chief Executive of UKinbound said:
“Whilst supporting the concept of strong and secure borders for the United Kingdom we are, like many other organisations, deeply concerned that these measures, just like the chaotic introduction of biometric visas, are an ill conceived overreaction by UKBA prompted by the desire of the Home Office to be seen to be tough on illegal immigration irrespective of the damage to trading links with these countries of which tourism is just one of many.
“This important change was made without consultation with the tourism industry and announced on the very day that the latest House of Commons Select Committee report on tourism was published. That report contained the following comment about the current visa regime “the committee is deeply concerned that the consequences for tourism appear not to have been considered by the Home Office”, an observation that applies equally well in this instance.“
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Notes to Editors
A UK visa costs £65, compared to a Schengen area visa, which permits entry to 21 European countries, at E60 (£47)
The report described was the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee report into Tourism, for a copy please visit http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmcumeds.htm
Inbound tourism is the UK’s third largest export industry generating over £18 billion in export earning from 32 million international visitors to the UK in 2007 (ONS International passenger Survey).
UKinbound was set up in 1977 and is the only trade association that represents the UK’s export tourism businesses.
For more information visit www.ukinbound.org
UKINBOUND WELCOMES SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT
10/07/2008
UKinbound has welcomed the findings of the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee’s investigation into tourism, released this morning (10 July), and says that Government should now listen to what ...
UKINBOUND WELCOMES SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT
10/07/2008
UKinbound has welcomed the findings of the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee’s investigation into tourism, released this morning (10 July), and says that Government should now listen to what the industry has been telling them for some time.
This well balanced and thoughtful report detailed the industry’s lack of confidence in the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), poor cohesion in the national tourism structures and a need for stronger leadership from DCMS. The committee also concluded that the national tourist board, VisitBritain, is need of more funding and called the recent budget cuts “baffling”. Without sufficient funding, the Committee said there is a danger of missing an opportunity to showcase London and the UK on the world’s stage during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
UKinbound particularly supports the Committee’s call to Government for a reduction in the price of tourist visas. Overseas visitors are charged on average £207 per person in visas, taxes and other Government charges, much higher than our European counterparts, and this hugely damaging to the UK’s ability to compete as a destination.
Stephen Dowd chief executive of UKinbound said:
“Given the overwhelming evidence provided, the Committee could only have reached the conclusions it came to and we warmly welcome the recommendations made, particularly in relation to a reduction in visa costs. The budget cuts to VisitBritain were indeed baffling and leave the national tourist board unable to fulfil some of its core functions, let alone deliver on the Government’s own strategy to realise the full potential tourism benefits of the 2012 Games.”
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For further information, or to arrange an interview with Stephen Dowd, UKinbound Chief Executive please contact:
Helen James
Tel: 020 7395 7505
Email: helenjames@ukinbound.org
Notes to Editors
For a full copy of the Select Committee report please visit http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmcumeds.htm
UKinbound was set up in 1977 and is the only trade association that represents the UK’s export tourism businesses.
Inbound tourism is the UK’s third largest export industry generating over £18 billion in export earning from 32 million international visitors to the UK in 2007 (ONS International passenger Survey).
CREDIT CRUNCH IS HITTING INBOUND NOT OUTBOUND TOURISM
20/06/2008
The announced findings of surveys by Trip Advisor and American Express this week have confirmed that the credit crunch is having a disproportionate impact on inbound tourism compared to outbound, acco...
CREDIT CRUNCH IS HITTING INBOUND NOT OUTBOUND TOURISM
20/06/2008
The announced findings of surveys by Trip Advisor and American Express this week have confirmed that the credit crunch is having a disproportionate impact on inbound tourism compared to outbound, according to the trade association UKinbound.
Trip Advisor quizzed more than 4,000 people worldwide and found that just 21% of British travellers said fuel prices would affect travel plans this summer, compared with 41% of worldwide travellers. The American Express poll of more than 2,000 people found that 80% of Britons are not willing to give up their summer break at a time of widespread fears over the adverse impact UK fuel and price rises will have on holiday trends.
British holidaymakers are continuing to travel abroad, while their overseas counterparts are becoming more frugal, which according to UKinbound means the UK has to compete for fewer overseas visitors, who are also choosing cheaper destinations.
Stephen Dowd chief executive of UKinbound said:
"Both surveys show there is little chance of UK citizens taking fewer trips abroad, so in order to mitigate the effects of the credit crunch and reduce the tourism deficit we need a real push to make the UK more attractive to overseas visitors. That has to mean a change in Government policy and a reduction of the barriers which currently deter tourists from visiting the UK. The industry is continuing to improve it product offering and its welcome to overseas visitors but now we need Government to help us too.”
