Selaine Saxby MP, recently spoke in a King’s Speech debate on ‘Securing high sustained economic growth in every part of the country’ highlighting the important part that tourism and hospitality plays to the economy in North Devon.
Selaine met with UKHospitality in Parliament to discuss this new data and how hospitality contributes £93 billion to the UK economy and is the third largest employer in the country, providing 3.5 million people with jobs. New figures from UKHospitality show that hospitality is a significant part of the local economy in North Devon, delivering £229 million to the economy as a whole and employing 8,195 people.
Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon said:
“I am proud to celebrate the vital role that tourism and the hospitality sector play to our economy in North Devon. I have written to the Chancellor to keep business rate discounts as well as to reverse the Osborne tax reforms and level the tax playing field between long term and short term rentals to help resolve some of our housing issues to alleviate our staffing shortages. It was also great to speak to CEO of UKHospitality, Kate Nicholls about hospitality being at the heart of North Devon delivering £229 to the economy as a whole.
“However, local opposition have not made boosting our tourism industry in North Devon easy. On the contrary, they frequently come out with headlines that talk down North Devon’s beaches and our water quality. I know that people are concerned about water quality and want to see more action, that is happening, but there are some unintended consequences to our local businesses downgrading our natural assets, this is damaging and factually incorrect. Even Surfers’ Against Sewage, whose app generates more content in my inbox than anything else, conceded in writing to me this month, “With regards to the beaches in your constituency, we totally agree that huge improvements have been made to water quality there.”
“If you have the opportunity this winter, please do support your local pubs and restaurants. And as I have said many times before, if you have not planned your next holiday, I can highly recommend that you visit North Devon, home to the only coldwater surf reserve in the world and the UK’s only world surf reserve and not to forget the cleanest beaches.”
Kate Nicholls, CEO for UKHospitality said:
“Hospitality is truly unique in its contribution to every part of the country. From bustling cities to our more idyllic small towns and villages, venues like the local pub or coffee shop act as critical pillars of our communities and help bring people together.
“As these figures show, hospitality is also a significant driver of economic growth and, crucially, helps employ so many people. It’s fantastic to be able to share this with MPs and receive so many pledges of support for the sector.”
