Destination: United Kingdom

Introduction

1.1 Reasons for this guidance

In September 1999, European Commission officials working on British structural fund
programmes held a seminar with representatives of tourist boards from across the UK.
The aim of the day was to discuss the way in which tourism will be supported in the new
2000 to 2006 programming period in the UK, drawing on lessons learned from
experiences with projects supported in the 1994-9 programmes.

This document pulls together and expands upon the main themes and findings of the
discussions held that day. It has been compiled by the British Tourist Authority with the
assistance of the North West Tourist Board. Representatives of other UK tourist boards,
local government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the European
Commission were consulted in its compilation.

1.2 Support for tourism from the structural funds

Tourism has featured prominently in many of the UK's structural fund programmes in the
past, often to the extent of having a priority dedicated to it. Successive local
partnerships have recognised the contribution that tourism can make to stimulating
economic growth across the country and, in their programme documents, have set out
to provide the sector with the means of doing this.

The objective 1 and 2 programmes for the 2000-2006 funding period are approaching
tourism differently. Separate priorities for tourism have largely disappeared, and the
new programme documents tend to favour the treatment of tourism as an integral part
of the overall programme, building it in to broader economic development objectives.

In the last round of programmes, support for tourism took a number of broad forms.
These included -

¥ capital projects of all sizes - such as new attractions (including large flagship
projects), and accommodation improvements (including the development of
new hotels);
¥ business support for SMEs;
¥ tourism promotion activities;
¥ training to increase skills in the sector;
¥ rural development/farm diversification; and
¥ technical assistance towards the development of local and regional tourism
development strategies.

These are likely to remain the main types of support given to the industry in the new
programmes too - with an important difference being increased emphasis on upgrading
and enhancing existing facilities, and less on new-build projects.

Another important area will be information and communications technology (ICT),
something which is having an ever greater impact on the success of tourism in the UK
and across the world.