BHA says new strategy is needed to boost tourism and hospitality sector

She said the BHA is to devise a strategy after sounding out opinion of delegates and speakers from its recent Hospitality and Tourism Summit.

“If there was one message that came out of the Hospitality and Tourism Summit, held earlier this month, it was that there is overarching concern that the present government is not listening to the country’s wealth creators,” Ibrahim said.

“The BHA must now focus on ensuring that a new strategy is developed so that the industry’s growth potential – in jobs and investment - is fully realised and is not held back by barriers that could be removed and which would hugely advantage not only the industry but the UK economy overall.

“At present, there is a lot of Government talk about supporting the industry, but very little action.

“We must quickly gather together all the industry’s forces to ensure that there is a real change in government attitudes and policies, so that action follows.”

Last week Business in Sport & Leisure released a report calling for a series of steps to help the leisure industry, including making a cabinet minister responsible for championing the growth of the UK’s leisure industry.

It predicted that the trade’s tax bill and the cost of its regulatory burden would rise from £3.2bn in 2010 to £3.9bn by 2014.