Government must take tourism seriously was the message from Bob Cotton, BHA chief executive at the Association's Annual Luncheon, held on Wednesday, 25 June.

These sentiments were echoed by Keynote speaker and CBI director general Richard Lambert, who addressed more than 900 members and guests, including Tourism Minister Margaret Hodge, in the sumptuous surroundings of the Great Room, Grosvenor House.

The government, Cotton suggested, did not appear to appreciate that more and more regulations, which frequently were difficult to interpret and implement, hampered growth, took up too much management time and imposed yet more cost on business.

"Looking to the future, our biggest challenge is to encourage government to recognise that tourism is one of the country's key growth industries - one of the biggest in the country, one that has huge potential and one that yields significant tax revenue to the Treasury."

Acknowledging the uncertain and demanding time currently faced by the industry Cotton asserted that persuading the Government to take tourism seriously was a critical factor in the industry's future success.

"If the government was serious about taking tourism seriously, it would not have cut back VisitBritain's funding nor abolished the Hotel Buildings Allowance and would not have make it ever more difficult to ethnic restaurants to recruit their own skilled chefs.

"Our primary task is simple, to persuade government to take tourism seriously.

"We need to continue to put pressure on key Whitehall departments to recognise tourism's economic importance. In the devolved administrations and the regions we need to continue lobbying members of parliament with the same aim."

For more news from this year's successful AGM and Annual Luncheon and to read speeches by Bob Cotton and Richard Lambert, please visit the news section of the BHA website here.

Photograph: BHA Chief Executive Bob Cotton addresses more than 900 industry professionals at the BHA Annual Luncheon, 25 June 2008