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Sophie Griffiths: Why does the government consistently undervalue tourism?

Government
Sophie Griffiths
21 February 2020

Did you know the overall contribution to the UK economy from outbound travel stood at £37.1 billion last year?

Possible is calling for the introduction of a progressive tax on frequent flying to fairly reduce demand for flights (Picture: Marcin Nowak/Unsplash)

If you take into account inbound and domestic tourism, the sector is even more impressive.


Research from the World Travel and Tourism Council revealed travel and tourism was the fastest-growing industry in the UK in 2019, accounting for 11.9% of all jobs (ahead of financial services at 8.9%), and generating £231.6 billion for the nation’s GDP.

Given these stats, one would expect travel and tourism to rank highly on the government’s agenda.

But as last week demonstrated, Westminster, it seems, still fails to appreciate the significance of the industry.