The siren song for a minister of tourism has been on the industry's hit parade for many years now. It is worthwhile pointing out, however, that we have grown to our present eminence in the British economy without one.

This progress may be contrasted with the actions of successive trade and industry secretaries who have managed to preside over the destruction of our shipbuilding, textile and motorcycle industries, not to mention coal and steel. As a consequence, we now have a £2b balance of payments deficit on our trading account each month, which everyone is keeping very quiet about.

On those rare occasions when governments have taken an interest in us, their most notable achievements were to introduce greater taxation for our employees with the selective employment tax and a grant scheme which nearly bankrupted a sizeable proportion of the industry 30 years ago.

The present Department for Culture, Media and Sport has shown its power of judgement by, among other things, throwing about £100m at the British film industry, which has taken little time to lose the lot. What politicians say in support of us in opposition is, of course, forgotten in office.

We've done exceptionally well through government indifference and the longer politicians devote their full attention to the NHS, farmers and our manufacturing industries, the better will be our chances of survival in a highly competitive world.

The clamour for a senior minister of tourism looks like a massive ego trip for the industry and, if successful, on past performance, will be the portent of doom.

I am writing in response to Sara Guild's article on Cornwall's lack of participation in this year's National Restaurant Week and my quoted opinion on the matter (Caterer, 17 May, page 4).

The Seafood Restaurant had been hoping to run a special promotion offering diners the opportunity to try our new house wine from Rick Stein's winery in Australia. Unfortunately, the delivery of this wine was delayed and we were not able to run the promotion.

I think that National Restaurant Week is a fantastic way for those within the industry to work together and anything that can be done to increase the profile of the industry must be a good thing.

This is something that both Mr Stein and I feel very strongly about and therefore if we are able to run a suitable promotion next year then we would be very willing to participate.

For the past three years we have been involved with the Financial Times Save the Children lunches during January and February, and for the last two years have raised the most money for the charity.

Such promotions can be very beneficial to all involved, and we are very keen to support them wherever possible.

But May is a very busy time for most restaurants in Cornwall, and perhaps this is not the most appropriate time for them to run a promotion.

The British Tourist Authority regrets that it cannot always answer promptly all the hundreds of promotional propositions it receives ("Lights on, but is anyone at home?", Caterer, 24 May, page 19), especially as in recent months our total effort has gone into implementing a massive foot-and-mouth recovery plan overseas.

We are always keen to work with partners - those which can offer audiences that are complementary to the British Tourist Authority's visitbritain.com, which already lists - free - every property inspected by the tourist boards, the AA and the RAC.

We welcome partners based in the right overseas markets, working in the languages required. In particular, we'd like to hear from online marketers with substantial well-qualified databases that include overseas e-mail addresses. We are equally keen to hear from potential partners with truly complementary content to add to that of the tourist boards.

The BTA's recent online work on behalf of the industry has included a completely new site, open.visitbritain.com, to show that more than 80% of attractions and events were still open at the height of the foot-and-mouth crisis (it is now more than 90%).

We are now developing new online campaigns to target 10 million prospective new visitors to Britain.

Since January we have launched eight new individual visitbritain market-facing Web sites, including one in Arabic for the Middle East. BTA has 33 such market-specific sites.

No wonder our industry is not considered a respected career. I am developing my own restaurant company that will employ 20 people to begin with and another 60 within two years.

When I contacted the local authority I was informed that the Government does not supply any start-up grants for the hospitality industry. But if I were to employ three people in an industry such as engineering or manufacturing I would qualify for aid.

How much of this country's money is generated within our industry? How many staff do we employ to bolster the economy? And how many politicians spent time working at their local public house to supplement their education?

Strange, too, that after a busy day remonstrating on their soapbox or debating in the Commons, these same "purse-holders" retire to their local restaurant or bar, the cornerstone of our economy.

Last week I was interviewed for two jobs in Edinburgh. One position was with the room service department of a five-star hotel, where the hourly rate was £4.10.

The other job was with the conference department of a three-star hotel in Clermiston, which paid £4.50 an hour.

It is interesting that the five-star establishment, which can charge up to £1,000 per night for a room, was paying less than a three-star hotel.

I have a wealth of experience within the industry and speak two European languages in addition to English but, despite this, I was offered positions which paid less than I was earning when I was an 18-year-old entering the industry for the first time.

Along with many others, I have now to make a choice - retrain for another career, or remain within the industry, but work abroad. Why? Because the hotel industry in this country is not willing to reward talent and dedication.

Put up income tax and the Government will reduce "purchase/stealth" taxes [says Kenneth Sharp] (Caterer, 24 May, page 18).

Of course it will (not).

Wake up and smell the coffee, Mr Sharp!