Summer of discontent?

SARS. Terrorists. Here we go again, say tourism chiefs. Jackie Annett reports.

With the SARS virus and the war already leading to a drop in tourism, panic is setting in that another crisis as bad as foot-and-mouth and September 11 is descending on the UK.

The last few weeks have not been the best for British tourism. Experts are already predicting that this year overseas visitors to the UK will drop 15 per cent - despite the fact that it looks like the war could soon be over.

And even when the war does stop, Britain will still be seen as a likely terrorist target for some time to come. The Tourism Industry Emergency Response (TIER) group, which was set up after September 11, has said the potential crisis could cost the UK tourism industry £2bn.

So things are not looking good but what is the government doing about it?

For the 2003-4 financial year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed funding of £35.5m for the promotion of Britain as a tourist destination, and £14.1m to lead and co-ordinate the domestic marketing of Britain.

It will launch Britain's first domestic marketing campaign for several years, which will encourage British residents to take a fresh look at the wonderful places and great value products that lie on their own doorstep. A spokesman for VisitBritain said: "We will be launching a campaign in America in May and one in Europe in the autumn which will try and encourage people to holiday in Britain. These campaigns will be a mix of TV, press and web advertising and will reassure visitors about travelling in the current political climate."

The pub industry is optimistic that these measures will help. Tony Payne, chief executive of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations, said: "Members are worried that we are going to see fewer Americans in particular, travel to Britain, but they are hoping that more people will travel within Britain.

"The tour companies are already trying to promote the UK with special offers because they are panicking that the war and the SARS disease could damage tourism. If there are no terrorist attacks in the UK then things will improve."

Mark Hastings, of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: "It's difficult to tell how long the war will last. But I think the global economic slowdown is having a worse effect on tourism.

"Clearly, large numbers of visitors to the UK inject much-needed cash into the sector. If this is dwindling, licensees have to look at other ways of generating revenue. If we're not getting visitors from outside the country, pubs need to attract more custom from their locals."

Although the pub trade seems pretty relaxed, the tourism sector is not on the whole. Tourism chiefs are holding crisis talks with the government urging it to plough more money into the sector to ensure its survival - before the situation spirals out of control as it did after foot-and-mouth.

One thing is for sure. If it does reach this crisis point, many rural pubs as well as those situated in tourist areas will find it extremely hard to cope and many could cease trading.

Foot-and-mouth​

Tourism suffered nearly 10 times as much as farming during the foot-and-mouth crisis, but despite this businesses, including pubs, have still not been compensated.

In all it is estimated that tourism industries lost between £4.5bn and £5.4bn, whereas the farming industry lost just £600m in comparison.

But although the agriculture industry has received almost £1.4bn in compensation, rural publicans are still lobbying the government for their share of £7bn compensation.

The UK Rural Business Campaign (UKRBC), which is pushing for the compensation package, has still not reported any progress.

September 11​

The terrorism attacks on the World Trade Center resulted in a huge number of Americans choosing not to travel.

London's tourist attractions were hit the worst by this dip in tourist numbers, with Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London all suffering. Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Stonehenge and Canterbury Cathedral were also financially damaged.

Pubs in these areas found it increasingly difficult to survive without the trade from passing tourists.

Representatives from the tourism industry visited America in a desperate attempt to boost visitor numbers and - just before the Iraq war started - it looked like the sector had got back on its feet.