The rescheduled, joint British Destinations, Tourism Alliance and Tourism Society 2021 Tourism Conference was held at the Royal Over Seas League on Monday 15th November from 9.30 for 10 am to 3.30pm and was followed by an tourism industry reception 3.30 pm to 5pm in Royal Over Seas League (regrettably the annual Parliamentary Reception programmed for the House of Commons has been cancelled by the Parliamentary authorities).
The theme for the conference was Rebuilding the UK Tourism Industry and we are delighted that the Tourism Minister, Nigel Huddleston MP, provided the Keynote Speech on the implementation of the new Tourism Recovery Plan.
VisitEngland Chairman, Nick de Bois, lead a session on the implementation of the recommendations of his independent review of English DMOs which, if implemented, will help shape the future of the domestic tourism industry. World Travel and Tourism Council CEO and President, Julia Simpson spoke on prospects for International Tourism and Paul Slattery Director of Otus & Co gave us his views on the future for domestic tourism.
The event also showcased the research that is currently being undertaken on maintaining a Reduced Rate of VAT, a major piece of work by the National Trust on how businesses and destination need to respond to Climate Change and further initiatives that the Government should undertake to meet the goals of the Tourism Recovery Plan. The Tourism Alliance also launched its report Rebuilding Britain’s Tourism Industry.
Over 100 delegates attended. The programme can be accessed here:
The conference slide deck is available here:
Our conference partner, Quality in Tourism has been assessing properties and driving standards across the UK for over 15 years and they are experts in the field, offering advice, support and assessments for tourism & hospitality businesses. They are currently delivering a suite of assessments, including the initiative Safe, Clean and Legal assessment which is designed to be more than just an entry-level level scheme. Safe, Clean and Legal we believe, now helps fill the growing gap in the market between reliance on customer reviews alone and the more traditional grading assessments approach.
British Destinations