Tourism: Sussex

(asked on 25th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help support the rural tourism sector in Sussex.


Answered by
Nigel Huddleston Portrait
Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 3rd December 2020

My Department is taking a number of steps to support the rural tourism sector through COVID-19 and beyond, including in Sussex.

Tourism businesses in Sussex will have benefited from the unprecedented pan-economic measures we have put in place during COVID, including the VAT cut for tourism and hospitality activities, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, various grant and loan schemes, as well as business rates relief for the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.

Launched in 2016, the £45m Discover England Fund has supported the development of internationally focused tourism products across England, including many with a rural focus. The ‘England’s Coast’ project highlights the South East’s coastal tourism offer, while the National Park Experience Collection contains rural itineraries for the South Downs National Park.

Between April and July, VisitEngland’s £1.3 million Destination Management Organisation Resilience Fund supported local tourism organisations in the West Midlands. Tourism South East received £25,914 from through this fund.

VisitEngland and my officials remain in close contact with regional tourism stakeholders to monitor the impact of COVID-19 and related restrictions. We also continue to work closely with the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs on how we can most effectively support rural tourism’s recovery.

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