Sir David Michels, president of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) has called on the new coalition government to "take tourism seriously".

Speaking at the BHA's annual luncheon at Grosvenor House, London today (29 June 2010), Michels said that the industry needs more support from the government and that everyone would gain if the industry is able to fulfill its potential.

"First and foremost, I would like to see the government to leave us alone; with fewer regulations. This will cost nothing, but it will relieve the hospitality industry of mostly meaningless cost. That will leave us all to deal with what matters most: our customers.

"Secondly, the industry needs to have the right tax incentives to encourage investment. The loss of the hotel building allowance damaged precisely the sector of the industry, the owner operator, that most depended on it. It was a classic case of government not taking tourism seriously."

He added that the annual £30m grant to Visit Britain was "a fantastic investment".

"Overseas visitors bring in £17bn a year of which £2bn goes to the Exchequer. If only any of us had that return on our business investments."

Sir David also questioned whether, at a time when Visit England had no money to promote England in north America and near Europe, its funds would not be better spent generating domestic demand.

"Would it not be more effective if VisitBritain promoted Britain in these established source countries, rather than, say, South Korea, where the return to us will inevitably be much less, in the short term at least?

"Perhaps in this time of austerity we should redefine our objectives and be clear what role is best for all our many tourist organizations."

Emphasising the size and job-creating potential of the industry, Sir David also criticised the succession of tourism ministers who had made little impact on the industry and on government thinking.

"So many government departments introduce policies that directly affect our industry: Treasury, Environment, Home Office, Department of Business, Revenue and Customs, Department of Health to name but six.

"Do they consult DCMS on their proposals? Sadly even such a major item as the hotel building allowance took DCMS by surprise."

He concluded that the industry wanted a government that encouraged tourism - one that supports and nurtures us through all the well managed investments in profitable hospitality enterprises that we are able to create.