Destination Management Organisations

Baroness Doocey Excerpts
Tuesday 8th June 2021

(2 years, 9 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran (Con)
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The noble Baroness will be aware that the Government have given huge support—over £25 billion—to the tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors. We made an additional grant of £425 million specifically to local authorities, making clear that tourism and events were eligible for that funding, at the discretion of local authorities.

Baroness Doocey Portrait Baroness Doocey (LD)
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My Lords, a recent survey of tourism businesses by the Tourism Alliance highlighted some severe staffing problems: only 18% of businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector say that they have enough staff, and almost one-third have had to reduce their capacity, services or hours because they simply cannot get the staff. What action are the Government taking with DMOs to rectify this situation, which is wrecking the recovery not just of the tourism industry but of local economies?

Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran (Con)
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The noble Baroness makes a good point, but the picture is slightly more complicated than the one that she paints. She is right that there are areas of shortage, but in significant portions of the industry staff are still on furlough. There are great geographic variations on that, and we are working closely with the sector to assess how we can respond to the challenges it faces.

Seaside Resorts

Baroness Doocey Excerpts
Monday 22nd June 2020

(3 years, 9 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran
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The noble Lord is right that the impact of the drop that we have seen in the number of tourists is extraordinary. He will be aware that at the end of last year the Government announced a tourism sector deal. As part of that, there will be a number of tourism action zones. Sadly, Covid-19 has delayed those plans somewhat, but we are still absolutely committed to our tourist industry.

Baroness Doocey Portrait Baroness Doocey (LD) [V]
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My Lords, during the lockdown will the Government allow councils to give waivers from both licensing and planning limitations on the use of outside space? This would allow the hospitality sector to have tables outside their premises and allow more businesses to reopen while maintaining social distancing.

Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran
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I think that I mentioned earlier that we are looking at a range of regulatory easements to facilitate the delivery of different services and extend the season.

Covid-19: Museums, Galleries and Historic Buildings

Baroness Doocey Excerpts
Thursday 21st May 2020

(3 years, 10 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Doocey Portrait Baroness Doocey (LD)
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My Lords, weddings in historic buildings provide an income stream that helps to pay the repair bill. The closure of these wedding venues therefore represents a heritage protection crisis as much as an economic crisis. There are three ways in which the Government can help. First, allow couples planning a wedding to be shown the facilities, which will enable historic buildings to start securing bookings again and help their cash flow. If estate agents can show people around houses, surely historic buildings can show wedding venues?

Secondly, allow weddings to resume, subject to restrictions of course: limiting capacity, pre-vetting and contact tracking—whatever is required.

Thirdly, as a pilot, allow weddings to take place outside, without the need for a permanent structure, as proposed by the Law Commission. The Government need urgently to remove the risk to this £10 billion a year industry by allowing wedding venues to open in June rather than July.