Workforce worries

Wells tells me that with about 30% of her members’ workforce comprising EU migrants, ensuring the UK maintains the ability to hire “good quality people” is a primary concern.

“There aren’t necessarily huge numbers of people in the UK ready to do this sort of work, partly because unemployment is so low,” she tells me. “For areas like the south-west, having the right staffing levels is critical.”

She says the implementation of this plan is three-fold: where possible reassuring EU migrants already working in the sector; making sure that any new immigration and employment system is “flexible and easy for our members to use”; and “working hand in glove with government” to encourage more students in the UK to enter the hospitality and tourism industry. “It’s got huge potential for both low-skilled and graduate-level people, and it’s still not recognised as an area you can have a great career in, mainly due to a lack of understanding,” Wells insists.

The latest Tourism Industry Council in November was joint-chaired by Tracey Crouch, minister for sport, tourism and heritage, and Robin Walker, government minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union, and these points were made, Wells explains.

“They’re well aware of the issues regarding employment. How we get to a system that maintains our workforce and labour supply without us being members of the single market is paramount.”

Stiff upper lip

The second issue is around “welcome and access”. “We need to make sure the perception of Britain abroad is that of a welcoming place – it’s a key deciding factor for people,” Wells enthuses.

“There was some concern post-Brexit vote that on social media there was some anti-foreign feeling and that there would be a knock-on impact in terms of reduction in bookings. Thank goodness we haven’t seen that sustain, but I don’t think we can be complacent.

“We need to make sure the messages we are sending out about being open are translated into the experience as well.”

“We have a perception gap,” says Wells. “Most people are pleasantly surprised when they get here but I think there’s still that idea of us all having a stiff upper lip.”

One sector where the UK is perceived “very well”, according to Wells, is the LGBT international community. “The Same Sex Marriage Act helped with that,” she says. “But LGBT visitors are not just a big section of the market. They’re families, older people, people of different income levels – it’s multi-faceted.”

In terms of access more generally, Wells is “really concerned” about the suggestion that the UK would leave the EU’s Customs Union post-Brexit.

“How that will work at the ports and airports which are already so busy is mind-boggling,” she sighs. “I did work on this when I was working in government and we were setting up the single market – rather tragically,” she adds with a wry smile.

Currently, those cleared in one part of the EU for transiting goods or people are customs cleared throughout, and Wells says she is particularly concerned about how a change in this would impact the Channel Tunnel and the border with Northern Ireland.

“Disentangling ourselves from this system in a world where people are used to travelling freely is going to be problematic,” she adds.

Wells believes the country can “help itself” by making a bold statement about being a global destination to markets outside of the EU.

“A couple of years ago the government made some really good concessions for the Chinese market to reduce the cost of the visa and speed up processing times, and we saw demand from that market go up overnight,” she points out.

UKinbound would like to see that replicated for India. Business travel is a growing, lucrative segment of the Indian market and one Wells believes “we need to be getting a piece of”.

The Business Barometer results placed China as the top inbound growth market in November and December, pushing the US from joint-top position in September and October. France was described as “recovering”, but still the main declining market.

Open skies

The third Brexit-related issue identified by UKinbound is the European open skies agreement, with 70% of members’ customers travelling to the UK by air.

“A really important role for us is to be able to communicate members and business’s views to government and make sure our concerns are being fed through to the debate,” says Wells.

While the latest Business Barometer indicates that confidence levels are at their “highest” among the tourism association’s members, Wells is cautious in her outlook.

“We are in a perfect storm of the pound having dropped but the trading conditions being the same,” she admits. “What we want to make sure is that by the time we’re having our conference next year those confidence levels are still robust.”

The big 40

“Of course the other key issue for the conference is that we are 40 years old this year,” says Wells with a laugh. “We’re going for a bit of a 1970s vibe.”

Delegates will hear that at one time UKinbound produced a guide for members about how to use the internet. “If members asked how to reply to clients via email we could send it on their behalf for a small fee,” Wells says with a smile. “Very sweet.”

“But some of the advocacy and lobbying issues are the same 40 years on,” she adds on a more serious note. “Our credibility with government is a lot stronger.

“Tourism was mentioned in the recent industrial strategy and I don’t think that would have happened a few years ago,” Wells adds.

“There’s recognition now that we are the seventh biggest export earner and that’s critical in the post-Brexit world.

“All the issues that have affected travel – the ash cloud, foot-and-mouth – you realise Brexit is the next thing we have to deal with, and we will.”

With each inbound visitor spending £630 during their stay and worth £216 to the exchequer, let’s hope the government is keen to sit up and listen.

UKinbound convention

• 250 of UKinbound’s members will attend the annual convention at the Holiday Inn, Plymouth from February 8 to February 10.
• The programme will include an AGM, a B2B workshop, fam trips, a gala dinner and an Awards for Excellence ceremony at Plymouth Guildhall.
• The keynote speakers will be Deloitte UK’s vice chairman and travel lead, Graham Pickett, and self-made millionaire Deirdre Bounds.
• Plymouth hosting the convention is described a “great opportunity” and the south-west of England is a growing market, particularly popular with German tourists who enjoy the work of novelist Rosamunde Pilcher.
• In 2020 the UK, the US and the Netherlands will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower ship, which formed a relationship between the countries.
• The convention is an opportunity for tour operators to start building itineraries around the event – Mayflower 400 UK.