Britain is a world-class tourist destination, yet our public services, particularly transport and airports, seem determined to reduce it to a third-world status.

For example, the recent hike in the minimum cash fare for London Transport passengers to £4 – even for one stop – appears to be specifically designed to deter domestic and overseas visitors to the capital.

It prices passengers off the public transport system and lends more credence to the charge that Britain is one of the most expensive tourist destinations in the world.

True, it’s possible to get cheaper one-day travelcards and Oyster cards, but casual visitors may not be aware of how and where to obtain them.

Even if they do, they may not be keen to fill in a form and pay a £3 deposit for the Oyster card – yet seven day travel cards are dependent upon the purchase of any Oyster card, except when bought from a railway station. How complicated.

So the unwary or unknowing may be forced to purchase a full priced ticket. We can only hope that one- and three-day travel cards (not dependent on an Oyster card) are promoted heavily to visitors.

Our railways are beset by delays during periods of adverse weather - be it high winds, heavy rain, or extreme summer heat – and our motorways in any weather are a byword for ‘congestion’ or ‘queues ahead’.

Nor did the chaos at London’s airports before and after Christmas do Britain’s image as a friendly tourist destination any favours.

A 121-minute security queue at Gatwick airport three days after Christmas was caused, allegedly, by having too few staff on duty. In another instance, baggage was offloaded from a flight to Belfast because, it was claimed, the airline was trying to save fuel.

Piles of lost baggage at Terminal 4, combined with unheated marquees at Heathrow during the fog, emphasised breathtaking incompetence and mismanagement.

The impression given to overseas visitors is damaging to Britain and in particular the country’s tourism economy.

Britain’s public services need to wake up. We are in an intensely competitive market, with new tourism destinations opening up every year.

The private sector invests billions of dollars into infrastructure, but we are let down by a public transport system that is underinvested and cruelly expensive, and an airport operator that cannot decide whether its running a secure airport or a retail shopping experience.

I urge the tourism industry to press for improvements, otherwise our transport systems and airports will offer a poorer yet more expensive service.

If we continue like this, we won’t need a bed tax to make Britain even less attractive.

Bob Cotton

Chief executive