Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Myer Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

2. What recent assessment she has made of the contribution of tourism to the local economies of coastal towns.

[The Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism (Chris Bryant)]

Tourism is vital to our coastal towns, and if we are to reach our target of 50 million international visitors to the UK by 2030, we will need to do far better at improving tourism numbers in our coastal towns.

[Luke Myer]

The coastal village of Skinningrove is home to a fantastic tourist asset, Land of Iron, which is the leading ironstone mining museum in the country. I am campaigning for it to receive national status as the national ironstone mining museum. Will Ministers consider meeting me to discuss that request, and would they like to visit?

[Chris Bryant]

My hon. Friend challenges me a bit. The Rhondda has the best mining museum in the UK, but I am prepared to concede that in England he might be right. But there is an important point: our mining heritage is part of understanding the country that we have been, and the country that we can be in future. I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend. Arts Council England has a specific way of giving a national name to museums, and that is one thing that he might want to apply to it for.