HOSPA CEO Carl Weldon takes stock of the likely impact of the new government on tourism.
I was recently asked about the effect of the election result. Being somewhat non-political in terms of activity my only comment was that it would certainly appear that the business community – and many of those connected via jobs and their living to it – voted Conservative. In other words voted for their commercial future rather than any political bias.
Tourism was actually listed in the main Election manifestos for the first time which was recognised and welcomed by the BHA - Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the BHA who pointed out: “For the first time ever, tourism and hospitality has been recognised as a key contributor to jobs and the economy across the manifestos of several key parties. This is a small triumph, not only for the BHA, but for the 3 million people working in our industry who together make a significant contribution to the country’s GDP. This is just the first step.” See the BHA’s website for further comment.