The government has been accused of holding back Britain's tourism industry by withdrawing financial incentives, reducing capital allowances and cutting Visit Britain's funding when most needed.

Bob Cotton, chair of the Tourism Alliance, announced at the Conservative Party summit today that the industry needed a government that understood that tourism was the "emerging industry of the 21st century". He described the current government as being unable to provide the right economic environment, the right incentives and the right tourism structure. Although the DCMS is responsible for tourism, Cotton highlighted that there was no dedicated section in DCMS to oversee the biggest industry in its portfolio. Instead responsibility for tourism is split between a number of competing national boards, government agencies, Regional Development Agencies and local authorities. "All are publicly funded but few bother to work - even to communicate - with each other," Cotton added.

"There is no national co-ordination. Some RDAs favour tourism, others do not. There is duplication of effort. Regional Tourism Boards have all but disappeared. Money is wasted. VisitEngland, representing a country which attracts three-quarters of all overseas and domestic visitors to Britain, has only just been set up." In light of the recession, Cotton said there was an overwhelming need for UK tourism to provide even greater value for money.

"We have to raise standards and raise the quality of our tourism offering even higher. We need more new hotels, more new restaurants, more new tourism facilities. We need existing facilities updated. We need to gain a reputation for a warm welcome that's second to none." In doing so, he addressed the need for investment in the industry, which he noted was already beginning to slacken due to the recession. He said: "it is at this precise point that the industry needs tax and fiscal incentives to encourage continued investment in new hotels, in refurbishment and in additions and extensions. Ironically, government actions have achieved the opposite result."