Tourism body essential for region’s jobs and recovery, says TUC

The TUC is today (Tuesday) calling on national government to fully fund local councils’ contributions to Welcome to Yorkshire, in order to rescue the region’s tourism, culture and hospitality industries.

The union body, and its affiliated unions in the culture and hospitality sector, support the continued work of Yorkshire’s Destination Management Organisation as the region faces an unprecedented threat to its tourism sector.

Recent TUC analysis shows that on average 33% of jobs in the tourist hotspot of North Yorkshire are at risk. This breaks down to 41% of jobs in Craven at risk, 38% of jobs in Scarborough, 34% in Ryedale, and 29% in Hambleton district.

Job exposure to JRS and SEISS in the rest of the region currently stands at approximately 30%. The analysis is based on the percentage of those eligible for furlough who are on either the JRS or the SEISS.

TUC Regional Secretary Bill Adams said:  

“Local councils are spending hand over fist to fight the coronavirus pandemic, but government has pulled the funding rug out from under them.

“The Prime Minister is expecting councils to roll out emergency public health measures and at the same time fund a tourism body for a region the size of Scotland or New Zealand.

“It is neither sensible nor fair. Council budgets needs to be fully funded to support all their activities and their response to all aspects of the pandemic.

“Supporting jobs and businesses through this pandemic is essential to a better recovery that prioritises jobs and working people.

“We need a strong tourist board with a well-coordinated tourism recovery strategy to support the jobs and businesses depending on this sector.

“The TUC’s Better Recovery for Yorkshire plan shares the objective of Welcome to Yorkshire’s Reopen, recover, rebuild: recovery plan for the tourism sector, to support good, secure jobs for tourism across our region.

“Trade unions and Welcome to Yorkshire are working together to safeguard the future of jobs and businesses in the tourism sector. But without a strong tourism body, our efforts will be hamstrung.

“A quarter of a million people in Yorkshire are employed in tourism. If government doesn’t step up to help councils support Welcome to Yorkshire, those jobs are put at unnecessary risk.”

ENDS