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Tourism industry criticises DCMS again
The government's controversial budget cuts for VisitBritain in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympic Games has ignited a debate about who is responsible for marketing the UK as a destination for inbound tourists.
In response to criticism concerning the 18 per cent slash in funding, a spokesperson for the DCMS last week said: "By securing the 2012 Games for Britain we have provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our tourism industry. It is now up to the industry to make the most of the Games."
Tourism association UKinbound's chief executive, Stephen Dowd, was quick to rubbish the government's view. "Arguing that tourism businesses should be responsible for destination marketing shows just how little the department responsible for tourism really understands the industry," he said.
"Is it too much to expect that in return for the £2.9bn in taxes levied on international visitors and inbound tourism businesses we should, at the very least, have a properly funded national tourist board that can deliver a consistent message to our overseas markets.
"The tourism industry, the majority of which is made up of small businesses, simply does not have the capacity or the expertise for the international marketing of the UK as a tourism destination."
Visit London, the capital's tourism agency, is also reported to be in the throws of assessing possible redundancies due to a funding increase being less than the 4.4 per cent inflation rate.
The agency recently launched a £4m global campaign called See the World, in which it hopes to promote the UK as the host of the Olympics when the hand over from Beijing happens 24 August.
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