Trapping the tourists

The Government is joining forces with the trade in a bid to bring tourists back to the UK after the blows of the past year. Jackie Annett reports

Just when the tourism industry thought things could not get any worse, the repercussions of the world's worst-ever terrorist attack on America hit home.

On Tuesday September 11, the world looked on in horror as thousands of people were killed when suicide hijackers, thought to be linked to Middle-Eastern terrorist Osama Bin Laden, crashed into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania causing untold damage and ripping a country apart.

While the UK watched with empathy and offered its help and condolences, many were at the time unaware of the devastating effect the tragedy would have here.

Hundreds of British families are grieving the loss of loved ones who lived and worked in New York, and around the globe people are now much more fearful of flying and travelling abroad.

As a result, the airline and tourism industries have been dealt a critical blow. Estimates suggest that the terrorist attack on America will cost the UK tourism industry as much as £1bn in the next quarter alone (20 per cent of annual turnover).

Seventy-five thousand jobs could also be lost as some of Britain's best-known attractions including the Tower of London, Madame Tussaud's, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye have reported a fall in visitors.

Popular destinations including London, York, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Chester and Bath have all seen a dramatic fall in visitor numbers.

The pub trade in many of these areas relies on the steady stream of visitors for its own survival and pubs will suffer badly, or could even be forced to close, if these numbers do not recover.

Tourism minister Dr Kim Howells said the attack on the US would "inevitably have a severe impact on inbound tourism to Britain". With airlines cutting services to and from the US and many people reluctant to fly at all, this situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Dr Howells added that Britain should be able to compete with the rest of Europe and the world as a destination for visitors.

At the launch of the industry's best practice forum - an alliance of six trade associations dedicated to improving productivity in the industry - the minister outlined to hospitality leaders that pubs, hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions needed to be improved so that more people would want to visit (see Trade aims to boost tourism (28 September 2001)for coverage on thePublican.com).

The forum is working on a five-year plan, called Profit through Productivity, which will support licensees and bar-staff as well as other tourism employees, and help them improve their skills.

It has been funded partly by the Department of Trade and Industry, which has contributed £1.3m of the total £4.1m cost of the initiative.

Dr Howells pointed out that standards in pubs vary enormously across the country. "We see very high standards and poor quality side by side," he said.

"We need to understand why that quality varies and why the good operators don't share their experience with the poor ones.

"There has been massive damage done to the industry by foot-and-mouth and the recent events in the US. Capturing and sharing world class best practice is essential if we are to raise our game and meet the challenges facing our tourism, hospitality and leisure industries today."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport told The Publican Newspaper that the £60m a year put aside for marketing Britain as a tourist destination could be increased in the wake of the US terror attacks.

Meanwhile, there have been mixed reports of whether Britain will suffer a recession. Sir Eddie George, governor of the Bank of England, has said that it is too soon to judge whether the British economy will avoid recession, but reported a 30 per cent fall in consumer spending in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

With the national media dominated by headlines warning of such a recession, it seems likely that the UK public could tighten its purse strings and stay away from pubs.

Some adverse effects of the last few weeks can already be seen in the pub trade. Six Continents is one of a growing number of companies to issue profit warnings.

And shares in London brewer Fullers have fallen by 8.2 per cent to 390p after the company warned that business would suffer from the US terror attacks.

The group's finance director, Paul Clarke, said the delayed opening of two hotels as well as a sharp fall in demand for rooms had hurt profits.

The group has seen a dramatic drop in demand for rooms at all its hotels since the September 11 attacks on New York.

To compound the problem it seems foot-and-mouth is not yet over either, with new cases being reported every day and the cost to the trade already totalling £1.5bn.

In Cumbria, a disease hot spot where licensees and hoteliers have suffered considerably from the effects of foot-and-mouth disease, a new outbreak was confirmed last week, bringing the total of nationwide cases to more than 2,000.

While some in the industry see better prospects ahead, many others are on tenterhooks. With a recession looming even before the US terror attack, and foot-and-mouth already hitting trade, it would seem that things couldn't get any worse.

But rather than taking a negative stance, Dr Howells says the industry must fight back.

He is encouraging the trade to improve its services and make the UK the number one attraction for both UK residents who are too scared to holiday abroad, and visitors from abroad who are determined not to be scared off by recent events.

What are the effects?​

• The tourism industry in the UK is bracing itself for a 20 per cent slump in visitors, which could lead to a loss of £1bn in revenue
• Up to 75,000 workers in the tourism trade could lose their jobs
• Some attractions and venues that rely heavily on American trade could go under
• Pubs may suffer a loss of trade as the public tightens its purse strings in the fear of a possible recession.

What is the Government doing to help?​

• Tourism minister Dr Kim Howells has been in several meetings with key figures in the industry to discuss how to stay afloat during these difficult times
• The industry has launched a best practice forum - an alliance of six trade associations dedicated to improving productivity in the industry. This forum is working on a five-year plan, called Profit through Productivity, which will support licensees and barstaff as well as other tourism employees, and help them improve their skills
• The Department of Trade and Industry has injected funding into the sector and has contributed £1.26m of the total £4.1m cost of this new initiative
• More emphasis is being placed on marketing Britain to try and encourage people to visit this country
• The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is considering increasing the £60m a year provided for marketing Britain as a tourist destination in the wake of the events in America
• Industry leaders are looking at how to improve the industry by retaining good staff, improving productivity and raising standards.