Tourism: Covid-19

Kevin Hollinrake Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Selaine Saxby]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. We need to agree what we want the tourism sector to look like in the future, but we must also ensure that it receives the support it needs to still be there when the pandemic is behind us.

The economic hit of the pandemic has further underlined the need to level up our regions. The productivity and attractiveness of beautiful coastal resorts, which we have in abundance in North Devon, are hampered by a lack of infrastructure, particularly broadband. Coastal communities were hit hard at the start of the pandemic with increased unemployment. Of the 20 towns with the highest increase in unemployment from March to April this year, eight are on the south-west peninsula and 18 are coastal communities. But other opportunities open up far more quickly in regions with many other lines of economic activity and more diverse local economies. The deprivation of our coastal communities is well documented, and the hit their tourism industries have taken will only make the situation worse. When we look to level up, I hope we can work to understand how our coastal communities, north and south, operate, and ensure investment will secure long-lasting improvements in opportunity for our young people.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

We also have lovely coastal communities in north Yorkshire, particularly in the shape of Filey. My hon. Friend talks about postponing the reintroduction of VAT. I absolutely support that, particularly as it will coincide, if it is reintroduced, with the repayment of other payments to HMRC and the payment of rates that restart. It would really help cash-flow pressures if it were delayed.

[Selaine Saxby]

Indeed. It is a far more complex issue than me standing here today and asking for more blanket support for the tourism industry.

Destination management organisations and industry bodies are working tirelessly in the background and are well placed to represent the sector. We need our DMOs to be more robust, with a sustainable funding mechanism. We need a clearer strategy and we need those long talked of tourism zones to become a reality. As we leave the EU, we must also look at reducing red tape, with the removal of travel package regulations, for example.

Some of the tourism sector may have been slowly eased off life support this August, but it is not ready to be discharged just yet, as I have illustrated. I hope the ingenuity and creativity displayed by the Treasury and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to date will be replicated in the coming months to give the tourism industry the leg up it so desperately needs to ensure we can welcome international visitors back, as well as those of us visiting parts of the UK to help out in the coming months.