A new report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and hotel chain Travelodge has called on the government to provide greater support for growth and jobs in the UK tourism industry.
According to the Backing UK Tourism: Destination Recovery study, the sector - which contributes £86bn towards the economy - needs to be brought under the remit of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
The tourism industry currently sits within the remit of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), but the report claims that the department only directly contributes £50m out of the £350m annual public sector spend on support for the sector.
Regional Development Agencies (RDA), local authorities and domestic tourist bodies are responsible for directing the remaining £300m, but the BCC said that this has led to a lack of clear government guidance and is restricting tourism growth at a time when the sector currently has the second worst balance of trade tourism deficit in the EU.
Adam Marshall, BCC's director of policy said: "Tourism will play a key role in Britain's future economy, but the industry needs stronger, clearer support from government to reach its full potential.
"This is a sector which can rapidly create jobs, even in the current economic conditions, yet it suffers from an extremely confused support structure."
Grant Hearn, Travelodge chief executive, added: "Tourism should be removed from DCMS and the responsibility for delivery given to BIS, supported by a full-time minister tasked with policy co-ordination. Urgent reform can then take place, freeing up VisitBritain to concentrate solely on promoting the UK abroad.
"If the Regional Development Agencies, domestic tourist bodies and local authorities then had to report directly into BIS, I have no doubt we would see a far better use of the public money available for tourism promotion."
Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the report provided "more damning evidence" that the government was not doing enough to support the tourism industry.
Hunt said: "The current structures that promote UK tourism are not working well enough. That's why the Conservative Party is looking at creating a tourism minister to give the sector the leadership it so desperately needs."
