Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Graham Stuart and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 14th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

T8. An area of international trade that is often overlooked is tourism, and of course, inbound tourism is export earnings. What discussions is the Department having with other Departments to boost our tourism industry, for example on visas?

[Graham Stuart]

My hon. Friend is right. Tourism is a great example—I use the word “great” advisedly. The GREAT brand is used across the whole of UK Government. It is that rarest of things—a joined-up government policy that actually works. It has added huge value to our tourism sector. In 2017 we saw record numbers of visitors to the UK, and a contribution to the UK economy of £24 billion.