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Tourism Sector Deal

Announced in 2019, the industry and government’s flagship commitment to tourism included 10,000 more apprenticeships and 130,000 extra hotel rooms.

Section one

The Tourism Sector Deal established a framework for how the UK Government and tourism industry can work in partnership. This partnership works to boost productivity, develop the skills of the workforce and support destinations to enhance their visitor offering.

Announced in June 2019, the plan was heralded a ‘game changer’ for tourism, moving the sector to the top table as a leading concern for the UK Government’s future economic planning.

The deal took more than two years of hard work, commitment and determination from the tourism industry. Stakeholders from across the sector joined forces to develop ideas in line with the five key pillars of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy: People, Ideas, Infrastructure, Places and Business Environment.

The Tourism Sector Deal was replaced by the Tourism Recovery Plan published in 2021, which set out the Government’s framework for post-pandemic tourism industry recovery. Read more on the Recovery Plan.

Deal highlights

Highlights of the deal included the creation of an additional 10,000 tourism and hospitality apprenticeships, a commitment to building an additional 130,000 hotel rooms in response to increasing demand and ambitions for the UK to become Europe’s most accessible destination for disabled visitors.

Tourism Sector Deal: key goals and commitments

People

Ensure good jobs and greater earning power for all; create an additional 10,000 apprenticeships starts per year; invest £1 million in recruitment and retention.

 

People

80% of workforce to receive in-work training; develop two new T-Levels; create 10,000 employee mentorships per year.

Ideas

Create a Tourism Data Hub for a greater understanding of visitor preferences; encourage the UK to be the world's most innovative economy.

Infrastructure

Drive a major upgrade in the UK's infrastructure; develop an additional 130,000 bedrooms by 2025 (75% outside London); make the UK the most accessible tourism destination in Europe by 2025; increase the number of international disabled visitors by a third.

Places

Support place-based solutions; boost productivity across the UK with five Tourism Zones which will receive government support for growing their local visitor economy.

Business environment

Guarantee the best place to start and grow a business; £250,000 to improve broadband connectivity in conferences centres across the UK; make the UK the leading destination for business events in Europe.

Read the full Tourism Sector Deal

Read the full Tourism Sector Deal

Download the full original version of the Tourism Sector Deal from Gov.uk, for a comprehensive overview of its ambitions and commitments.

Download the full original version of the Tourism Sector Deal from Gov.uk, for a comprehensive overview of its ambitions and commitments.

This sector deal is a game-changer for tourism, one of the UK’s most valuable export industries, spelling a step-change in how we underpin the success of tourism for a generation, moving it to the top table as a leading industry for the UK Government’s future economic planning.
Former British Tourist Authority Chair, Steve Ridgway CBE

Why is the Tourism Sector Deal important?

The Tourism Sector Deal (PDF, 9.57 MB) was part of the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, a key part of its vision for the economy post-Brexit. It focuses on various areas, such as improving productivity, boosting innovation and supporting businesses long-term.

Sector Deals were developed under Theresa May’s premiership as partnerships between Government and industries to aid in the delivery of the Industrial Strategy. Such deals focused on sector-specific issues that could create opportunities to boost productivity, employment, innovation and skills. Sector Deals focused on areas government identified as most promising, and unified plans with industry representatives to help these sectors flourish.

For tourism, a Sector Deal puts the sector at the top of the agenda alongside automotive, digital and nuclear sciences – giving the industry a clear and direct line across government.

The journey to the Tourism Sector Deal

The Tourism Sector Deal represents more than two years of hard work and commitment from the tourism industry. This is the journey we took to reach the deal:

In January 2017, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published an Industrial Strategy green paper. At the Tourism Industry Council in February 2017, a group was set up to collaborate between the government and the tourism industry, and an agreement was reached that the tourism sector would push for a Tourism Sector Deal. The bid was led by Steve Ridgway CBE, former CEO of Virgin Atlantic, BTA Chair at the time and current hotel owner, an industry leader and expert – and facilitated by VisitBritain and VisitEngland, who helped the industry to pull together its proposals.

The government stipulated that those sectors with the broadest reach, and ability to speak with ‘one voice’ were the likeliest to achieve a sector deal. We reached out to the 200,000+ small businesses in all the sectors that make up our tourism industry, and more than 450 businesses and organisations fed into the consultation process.

In September 2017, the Tourism Industry Council signed off the following priorities:

  • A 10-year tourism and hospitality skills campaign to boost recruitment, skills and long-term careers providing the industry with the workforce it needs.
  • Boosting productivity by extending the tourism season year-round and increasing global market share in the business visits and events sector.
  • Improve connections to increase inbound visits from more markets by 2030, by making it easier for overseas and domestic visitors to not only travel to the UK but to explore more of it.
  • Creating ‘tourism zones’ to build quality tourism products that meet visitors’ needs and expectations, extending the tourism season and fixing localised transport issues to improve the visitor experience.

In October 2017, VisitBritain/VisitEngland put forward the formalised submission document (PDF, 14.5 KB).

In November 2018, the government announced it would be entering into an official negotiation with the tourism industry for a Tourism Sector Deal, to attract more domestic and overseas visitors and help drive major economic growth.

Recognising the tourism industry as one of the UK’s most successful exports, the then Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (formerly the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport), Jeremy Wright, called on the industry to respond with a renewed commitment to promote its offering throughout the year, and increase clear career paths.

The sector was asked to look at the key themes of:

  • Making tourism and hospitality a career for life
  • Making the UK the most accessible tourism industry in the world
  • Sharing data to identify growth opportunities in new and emerging markets
  • Increasing accommodation capacity

The Tourism Sector Deal was announced by then Prime Minister Theresa May on 27 June 2019. Read the full announcement here.

Devolved nations

The British Tourist Authority is the national tourist agency, responsible for marketing Britain worldwide and developing Britain’s visitor economy. In the UK, tourism is devolved with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each having their own national tourist boards. As part of the Tourism Sector Deal, the UK government committed to consulting and collaborating with the devolved governments on tourism-related initiatives and projects.

There were also policies outlined in the Tourism Sector Deal which are not devolved, most notably visas and immigration.

Discover more about the Tourism Sector Deal

The announcement by the Prime Minister

Read the unveiling speech made by former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.

Read the unveiling speech made by former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.

PDF

Government guide to the Tourism Sector Deal

Read or download the official government document setting out the Tourism Sector Deal.

Download (9.57 MB)
PDF

Tourism Sector Deal key facts brochure

Download our guide to the headline statistics, ideas and ambitions of the Tourism Sector Deal.

Download (2.74 MB)
PDF

Submission letter to the Minister of Tourism

Read the cover letter by Steve Ridgway CBE, which accompanied the Tourism Sector Deal bid.

Download (14.5 KB)
PDF

Industrial Strategy Tourism Sector Deal bid

Read the original bid for the Tourism Sector Deal, submitted in October 2017.

Download (1.69 MB)
PDF

Tourism Sector Deal highlights infographic

Download our eye-catching infographic detailing the key commitments.

Download (166.66 KB)