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 increase the level of tourism to (a) Worcestershire and (b) Bromsgrove District once covid-19 restrictions are eased.

My Department is taking a number of steps to encourage tourism once restrictions are eased, including in Worcestershire.

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.

We are working with VisitBritain, VisitEngland and local partners to champion the UK’s diverse tourism offer through the Escape the Everyday campaign.

We will continue to work with industry to provide assurance regarding when people can safely visit attractions - as demonstrated through the We’re Good to Go industry standard, which has been used by over 45,000 businesses.

The March Budget included £700m of extra funding to support our world-leading arts, culture and sporting institutions - protecting the venues which make the UK an attractive destination to visit.

Across all rounds and competitions of the Culture Recovery Fund, the West Midlands region received around £110m in funding, through awards to over 450 organisations/sites. As examples of funding in Mid-Worcestershire, Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust received £290,000 across both rounds of funding, and The Mono Box received £107,318 across both rounds of funding.

As some examples of funding in Bromsgrove, Avoncroft Museum received £275,943 across both rounds of funding, and Blackwell Adventure received £55,000 in Round 2.

In total, over £25bn has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks.