Government takes tourism more seriously with VisitBritain appointment

The Government's decision to reinstate the role of head of policy at VisitBritain hopefully signals its intention to take tourism more seriously, according to a leading trade body.

The role was scrapped in 2004 when the Government restructured VisitBritain, after deciding that it didn't need policy advice on tourism. It has now been reinstated with the appointment of Anne Harvey, who joins from the Scottish National Party's Westminster Group, where she was parliamentary business manager.

Kurt Janson, policy director at the Tourism Alliance, said: "To reinstate this function suggests that the Government now realises that this was a mistake and that it needs high-quality policy advice. It could also go some way to explain a number of Government's decisions on tourism over the past five years. So this is certainly a step in the right direction - we just hope that the Government listens to the advice and acts on it accordingly."

Harvey, whose previous experience includes positions as principal adviser to MP Angus MacNeil, and a decade as head of research at Holiday Which? magazine, said she was "eager" to begin dialogue with the industry.

VisitBritain said Harvey would work with both public and private sector organisations to identify the issues that were holding back growth of the UK as a visitor attraction and put in place a strategy to overcome them.

Initial areas will include welcome, sustainability, the impact of taxes and visas on cost and ease of access, as well as the implications of changing demographics.

Last month, VisitBritain created the interim role of deputy chief executive and accounting officer.

Sandie Dawe, the tourism body's 2012 Olympic Games strategy director, took on the role following the departure of former chief executive Tom Wright at the beginning of the year.


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By Daniel Thomas

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