Once the envy of the world, the UK’s hospitality and tourism industry has been wiped off the welcome mat, as this government is refusing to continue with any relevant support for the hardest hit industry.
As a result the pandemic has devastated some of the hardest working people across the UK. Hotels, restaurants, pubs, guest houses and even the smallest of bed and breakfasts continue to struggle and stay in business.
The easiest way to correct the balance of assistance is to work with industry experts and learn how hospitality and tourism combine to contribute a serious percentage of tax returns for this country overall. And at the same time return the UK’s third largest employer to pre-pandemic job numbers.
A Minister for Hospitality should have the knowledge necessary to protect this most valuable industry and be able to help those most vulnerable employees, our youth, who have made up a vast majority of staff still willing to work for low wages; provide admirable services; and welcome all guests across hospitality and tourism throughout the entire UK.
The government debated the need for such a minister some time ago yet, they continue to ignore and deflect from what is now a crisis time for those continuing to struggle with jobs and attracting new business.
So what can a Minister for Hospitality do for an injured door mat? Several actually, continue with the furlough program and continue to offer a vat reduction program only this time scaled upon performance of income levels over select time periods related to regular occupancy and seasonal performance achieved through a promotional program for UK tourism attracting both internal and external visitors with support from some of the industry’s finest marketing firms.
Offer rebates for youth employment tourism training programs across all service sectors across the hospitality industry.
Consider partnerships with major hotel groups and independent hoteliers offering ‘work from hotel’ programs in vicinity of existing workplaces covering a five mile radius to normal work destinations.
Incentives for hospitality in partnership with government creating and supporting jobs for the youth. Major hotel chains offer great ventilation and social distancing services to their guests in large and small gatherings and can act as real partners to get through this unfortunate pandemic.
The Minister for Hospitality would continue with financial support programs for the foreseeable future until revenues have levelled out again.
We can all gain from a government that acts in the interests of industries they have deep knowledge of and this takes creating a Minister for Hospitality a priority. This is part of Renew’s wider campaign to bring in more people, with real on the ground industry knowledge, into government.
At the Renew Party, we offer new ideas for Hospitality and Tourism as well as other youth job related industries across the UK. By being reformers we can empower the next generation with more opportunities than ever before.
Contact Renew’s Hospitality Spokesperson Stephen Tallon now to discuss with us a new way to partner in politics.
Views Representative of the author only.