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 plans to take to increase the level of tourism to (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire once covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

My Department plans to take a number of steps to encourage tourism in all regions following the easing of restrictions.

The Global Travel Taskforce last year committed the Government to publish a Tourism Recovery Plan in support of the sector. The Government intends to set out proposals in the Spring, including plans for a marketing campaign to welcome visitors back to the UK as soon as it is safe to do so.

The recently announced £56 million Welcome Back Fund will help councils improve green spaces, provide more outdoor seating areas and support tourism’s reopening this summer.

When holidays are permitted again, we will work with VisitBritain, VisitEngland and local partners to champion the UK’s diverse tourism offer once again - just as we did with last year’s Enjoy Summer Safely and Escape The Everyday campaigns.