39
Big Interview
the nation’s Brand Index the UK is
very strong in this area. A lot of
people don’t recognise the fantastic
countryside we have, so that’s an
area that can be pushed.
A lot of visitors are also very fond
of our modern culture: the Spanish
and Italians love our edgy city culture
in places like Bristol, Liverpool and
Manchester. For the US market then
the top attraction is obviously the
Royal Family.
On Brexit, are you satisfied the
government is listening to you
about the importance of this
sector?
I think they have heard loud and
clear on the areas that we were
concerned about: open skies and
visa-free access for EU nationals. We
have had some quite significant
assurances, but there’s more to be
done in getting the message out
there.
One of the biggest concerns we
have is around the immigration White
Paper that says those earning less
than £30,000 will not be allowed to
work in the UK. A lot of people in the
tourism industry arent paid £30,000,
and we rely on a lot of EU nationals to
do some of the jobs, which they do
fantastically. It threatens to become
a real barrier. Up here in Scotland
[the location of the UKinbound
annual convention] for example the
industry is going to need another
150,000 workers by 2027, and we’re
not sure where they are going to
come from with the skills that we
“It’s difficult
for a single
business to
influence
government
policy, so
what we’re
telling
members is
that they need
to service
their guests in
the best way
possible.”
need. We will need people with
language skills, mainly in French and
German, and of course Chinese. We
could get them, but it won’t happen
overnight.
What is your message to service
providers for the next few months?
It’s obviously very difficult because
we have this lack of clarity. As the UK
tries to negotiate a deal with EU it is
withholding some key information.
We’re trying to fill that gap as best we
can and to try and update our
members as regularly as we can with
any changes. We recently updated
our members on the use of identity
cards, which is of huge importance
for school groups coming to the UK
– where school children from some
EU countries don’t have passports. If
www.conference-news.co.uk
we force them to carry passports
then potentially they won’t come to
the UK anymore.
We sit on various industry groups
and speak to government at the
highest level, and we’re working with
other industry associations to force
the point that people really need the
certainty.
It’s difficult for a single business to
influence government policy, so what
we’re telling them is that they need to
service their guests in the best way
possible and are given the best
welcome they can possibly offer, and
continue to undertake the proactive
marketing to try and secure business
for the future. There are things that
people don’t know about the
moment, the progress on Brexit, so
this is all they can do.