This was the central message delivered by Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe, member of the House of Lords, at this year’s BETA Parliamentary Reception. Baroness Warwick was also Chief Executive of Universities UK for 14 years.

Clive Efford MP, Shadow Tourism Minister, also spoke at the event to highlight the UK£20 billion value of the sector. He said, if his party had been voted in, he would have been making “a strong case” to consider the campaign by the tourism industry to cut VAT on tourism receipts.

“Anyone who has looked into this issue knows that a return on cutting VAT comes several years down the line,” he said. “So it seems to me it is a decision you should make early in a Parliament if you are going to make it at all.”

He announced a new BETA partnership with University of Surrey School of Hospitality & Tourism Management

And Callum Kennedy of KMCL, BETA Chairperson, cited recent terrorist events in Tunisia as another reminder of the turbulent global environment in which tourism operates. “The BETA sub-sector of the human race is resilient,” he said.

He acknowledged ongoing concerns to BETA members such as visa concerns, airline passenger duty and VAT on tourism products.

“We continue to stress our huge contribution that this sub-sector of the tourism industry is making to the UK,” he said, announcing a new BETA partnership with University of Surrey School of Hospitality & Tourism Management “to develop our industry insights and research”.

“Quantifying volume and value continues to be a challenge,” Kennedy added.