CSR leaves industry with no answers

Today’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) left more questions than answers for the hospitality and tourism industry.

The Review, which sets out departmental spending from 2008-2011, promised to increase the budget for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to £2.2b in three years time.

Chancellor Alastair Darling said this funding would guarantee an inflation increase for the arts, free access to museums and galleries, extra for sport and a Cultural Olympiad in the run up to London 2012.

The CSR also confirmed the first phase of central government investment of more than £3.6b over the next three years to “deliver the foundations for a successful 2012 Games”. 

However, no mention was made of specific funding for the Olympics tourism strategy or boosting the marketing budget of VisitBritain, leaving industry leaders bitterly disappointed.

“It is worrying that there is no mention of tourism or VisitBritain in the initial document,” said Kurt Janson, policy director of the Tourism Alliance. “This is concerning as if there was a rise in the budget the Government would probably have highlighted it.”

A DCMS spokesman said: “More details of how the funding is broken down will be announced in due course.”

Industry waits for money to back up Olympic strategy >> 

Gordon Brown urged to up investment in UK tourism >> 

Tourism benefits of hosting Olympics underestimated >> 

Read more on the London Olympics here >> 

By Daniel Thomas

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