Speeches

Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Great Britain Tourism Survey that domestic trips in the UK fell by three million in 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Helen Grant

The number of trips taken in GB in 2013 was the 3rd highest in the 8 years that the current survey has been running and well above pre-recession averages, with spending second only to 2012. We do expect to see a natural increase in people booking holidays abroad as the economy improves but people are continuing to choose Britain for their holiday. Through its Holidays at Home are GREAT campaign, VisitEngland continues to promote England as a place for all residents of Britain to enjoy, and Visit Scotland and Visit Wales are also actively promoting their offer. The GB Tourism Survey also noted the record number of inbound tourists in 2013 reaching nearly 33 million.