This was the conclusion drawn by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee from a report in to how the industry can recover from the pandemic
It said the removal of tax-free shopping for visitors from abroad was "both short-sighted and incredibly damaging" to UK tourism, with the decision to reinstate it then remove it again "illustrative of the lack of thought given to the industry" by the government.
A reduction in marketing spend and new barriers to visitors further demonstrates the government’s "failure to recognise industry’s value", the report also found.
It also warned the inbound tourist sector is "too reliant on London" and there is a "worrying" lack of money for marketing.
The committee concluded the government "fails to recognise the value of the inbound tourism industry" – the UK’s third-largest service export, worth 9% of GDP, and on which 3.2 million jobs and more than 200,000 SMEs depend.
In response to the findings, Joss Croft, chief executive of UKinbound, said: "We warmly welcome the committee’s findings and its thorough report into the promotion of Britain internationally, which highlights serious government shortcomings and failures but also presents clear recommendations that would create growth across the whole of the UK.
“We support every recommendation presented by the committee and thank it for undertaking the inquiry, but what we need now is action and a clear commitment from government to support the UK’s inbound visitor economy.
"This includes undertaking a full cost-benefit assessment before deciding on the future of tax-free shopping, running a comprehensive risk-based assessment of the removal of ID cards for under 18s travelling to the UK as part of a school and cultural group, and investing in the marketing of the UK internationally."
