Tourism and the EconomyContribution. In 2009, the ‘visitor economy’ contributed £52 billion directly to the UK economy, or 4.0 per cent of GDP, and supported over 1.36 million jobs. Put in context, the three largest sectors in the UK economy are Business Services, Retail, and Manufacturing, with the output of the manufacturing industry comprising 11 per cent of national GDP. In 2011, the estimated contribution of domestic tourism to the UK tourism sector was £23.6 billion.

Employment. The associated tourism industries are dominated by smaller businesses, with over 83 per cent of the all companies employing between 1 and 49 people. Part-time workers make up a larger proportion of the tourism workforce than the workforce of the wider economy, with female part-time workers making up the single largest group.

Tourism and the EconomyWhat Conservatives in Government have done so far: Improving the skills base within the sector by increasing the number of

apprenticeships available in associated skills, making the tourist industry a respected career choice.

Giving the tourist industry and consumers responsibility for ‘star rating’ qualities schemes, and allowing the industry to work with consumer-led websites to make sure these ratings are accurate.

Creating an industry task force led by senior industry figures from across the UK to cut red tape.

Question: What contribution does tourism make to your area?

Performance on the world stageRanking. According to a report by the World Tourism Organisation, the UK is in the top ten worldwide both in terms of tourist arrivals and amount spent, and when taking into account a number of separate indicators of a country’s international performance, the World Economic Forum ranked the UK seventh overall worldwide.

Resources. The strongest draw to the UK is our cultural resources.

New Markets for tourists. Our traditionally strong markets are all either within Europe or the USA. However, the UK is attracting tourists from new markets, with strong growth in Asia and South America.

Performance on the world stageWhat Conservatives in Government have done so far: Improving tourists’ first experience of the UK when they land by cutting

passport control queues with the introduction of more e-Passport gates, ‘Smart Zones’ schemes for pre-cleared travelers and introducing a ‘trusted traveller’ scheme with the USA.

Supporting VisitBritain in attract countries from outside our traditional markets with the GREAT campaign, by marketing directly to 14 of the world’s biggest cities, including cities in China, India and Brazil, in addition to utilising some of the UKs famous faces to attract an international audience to Britain.

Making tourist visas simpler and more convenient to obtain, by increasing the world wide number of biometric ID centers, increasing the use of online applications and producing information in local languages.

Question: What further steps can be taken to encourage more oversees visitors to the UK?

Question: How should we particularly target visitors from new and emerging markets?

ImbalanceRural vs. Urban. There is imbalance within the tourism economy, with a marked preference for London and urban areas as destinations, but with rural areas seeing a greater dependence on tourism as a source of income.

The nations. The individual UK nations are dependent on tourism as a source of revenue by different degrees. For example, Wales takes 5.8 per cent of its overall GDP from tourism and holds 6 per cent of all tourism jobs in the UK, whereas the numbers for England are 4.9 and 4.3 per cent respectively.

ImbalanceWhat Conservatives in Government have done so far.

Redressing the regional imbalance within the UK by supporting VisitEngland in their programme to work closely with local areas and destinations. This will be co-ordinated through the National Strategic Framework for Tourism, which includes an action programme developed in consultation with the tourism sector.

Question: How can government help tourists to visit attractions outside of our big cities?

Question: How can we encourage more people to holiday at home?

Cultural Institutions Cultural Institutions. The top ten tourist attractions by visitor numbers in 2011 were all cultural or heritage-based attractions. Seven out of the top ten were museums.

Free entry to museums. Since the introduction of universal free access in December 2001, visits to the national museums in England which previously charged for entrance have increased by 151 per cent. Around 50 per cent of all funding for the arts comes from government sources. The rest is as a result of earned income, for example through paying exhibitions, and private investment.

Cultural InstitutionsWhat Conservatives in Government have done so far.

The government will continue its grant to the Arts Council which funds a number of cultural bodies including museums, with a total grant of £571,393

Question: How do we balance the needs of permanent residents with those of tourists, and the needs of the tourist industry with the duty to protect our national monuments and countryside?

2012 OlympicsDirect economic impact. Over £6 billion worth of contracts have already been awarded to companies involved with the Olympics: 98 per cent of those contracts have gone to British companies.

Benefit to tourism. A survey by Deloitte found that 80 per cent of all respondents from China and India were more likely to visit the UK as a result of the publicity surrounding the games. In addition, 60 per cent claimed they were more likely to buy British products, and 77 per cent want to learn more about the UK as a whole.

2012 OlympicsWhat Conservatives in Government have done so far.

VisitBritain is managing a four year campaign launched on the back of the Olympics to attract more than 4 million extra international visitors to the UK and £2 billion in spending.

The government is investing £3 million with the specific aim of delivering 12,000 new jobs, £500 million extra tourist spending and an increase of 5.4 million in the occupancy of hotel rooms over the next three years.

If your group could have set one of the above questions on this paper - what question would you have asked and what would be your answer?