Minister praises Bath as beacon of tourism co-operation
Tourism Minister John Penrose has hailed Bath as a shining example to the rest of the UK’s holiday destinations.
Mr Penrose, who is also the Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare, visited the World Heritage city yesterday as part of a countrywide tour.
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Bath Tourism Plus chair Mary Lynch with Mr Penrose
He is gathering ideas for a shake-up of the country’s tourism industry.
And after holding talks with the city’s tourism leaders at the jewel in Bath’s crown – the Roman Baths – Mr Penrose declared himself impressed by what he had seen and heard.
He described the way Bath’s hoteliers and attractions worked with the council as a fine example to the rest of the country.
The city is marketed by Bath Tourism Plus, a partnership which brings together the public and private sectors.
“There are a number of places in the UK where we are doing things well and Bath by any estimate is one of the best in the country,” Mr Penrose said.
“I’m here to find out what we can apply in other parts of the country.
“Here in Bath they get the local tourism businesses involved with the council. It’s a real public-private partnership with everyone pulling together.
“They are all contributing money and skills – and that’s rare.
“Across the country we want to improve the partnership between the public and private sectors and that’s where Bath is so good.”
Mr Penrose, who also visited the Thermae Bath Spa and the new SouthGate shopping area, met officials from Bath Tourism Plus, senior figures from Bath and North East Somerset Council and those who run the city’s attractions.
The minister revealed he intended to boost the west’s tourism sector by making it easier for would-be foreign visitors to negotiate the visa red tape surrounding visits.
“I want to make it easier for people from China and India to get visas so they can come to brilliant locations like this,” he said.
“We have already taken off the shackles that stopped councils from making the decisions for their locality.”
Mr Penrose will also visit Cumbria, Yorkshire and other major city destinations to assess the state of the industry before formulating a domestic tourism strategy aimed at making the sector more profitable.
His visit to Bath came hot on the heels of a similar trip by VisitEngland chairman, Lady Cobham. During her visit in June, she discussed working with Bath as a prime example of best practice within the industry.
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by JC, Bath
Wednesday, August 04 2010, 10:33PM
“Some negative thinking, although I do like Dave's 'mediocrity' comment, sums up what the Keynsham Mafia are doing to Bath. However, Bath will continue to thrive, despite the best efforts of B&NES clowns. It has a lot to offer, a lot to see, and wherever I go, people always tell me how much they enjoyed visiting Bath. There are hen and stag parties, but nothing like the scale of Newquay or Blackpool, and we have a long way to go to sink to the levels of those places. Budget hotels also attract cheapskates like me, the less I spend on accomodation, the more to spend on important things. And some of us can only afford short breaks, sorry if we are not good visitors. The rubbish thing has a small element of truth, but is not as bad as stated by Sax, and eagerly seized upon by my Bus'n'Bath loving buddy Anil. Most places don't look too good early on a Sunday morning.
Checking the traveller sites, plenty of positive comments, along with quite a few negative ones about the traffic system, or rather, lack of system.”
by Dave, Larkhall
Wednesday, August 04 2010, 6:51PM
“Come off it Kirsten, you know very well what a comma was for. I used to have one when I was plumbing for a living. Smashing big rounded van that I could get all my tools, ten radiators, six bundles of copper tube and a boiler in. There was still room for two kids and a dog.
As for Bath and tourism. Like everything else relating to this city of ours, mediocrity is now the accepted dimension, whether it be transport, re-development, re-generation, retail, housing or leisure.
When the last MOD worker leaves for Filton, and the cabinet wake up to the fact that not a single commercial planning application rests upon the Guildhall steps, maybe, just maybe the folk of Bath will raise themselves from their false sense of insulated comfort and realise we are in the proverbial doo doos.”
by Kirsten, Bath
Wednesday, August 04 2010, 3:43PM
“re Simply, not Cricket. Call me a pedant if you will - and you probably will - but I can't take seriously someone who doesn't understand what a comma is for. So he's another on my ignore list.”
by Jimmy, Cricket
Wednesday, August 04 2010, 2:42PM
“You got some sort of problem Simply Not Cricket? Or just don't have the wit or intelligence to answer a simple question asked of you?”
by Kirsten, Bath
Wednesday, August 04 2010, 11:39AM
“You may have a point, Wolf. If Bath Tourism Plus really wants to find out the best way forward, why don't they ignore consulants and get together a conference of those people who know what's going on tourist-wise and what tourists want, and have a good round table discussion. They used to have a think-tank which I was on, but they didn't really want people with genuine ideas, but a bunch of yes-men who told them how clever they were and what wonderful ideas they had, so I got thrown off because I didn't . As you can imagine.”