Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA) Executive Director Peter Ducker, speaking at the second day of the HBAA Annual Forum at Radisson Blu, Stansted, told CN he believes tourism and events industries should come under BIS (the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) rather than the Department of Culture Media and Sport. He was speaking to CN in the week that saw the removal of John Penrose, MP, as minister responsible for the events industry. It was a sacking Ducker considers “a shame, because he was the first minister to take an active interest in meetings and events and prepared to meet the leaders of the industry associations”.
Ducker said he felt “very strongly that we should be with BIS and not sit with DCMS. We are an industry and important contributor to the economy. Unfortunately, we’re not taken seriously enough”.
Eventia Chairman Simon Hughes also weighed into the debate, describing his association’s view of this week’s re-shaping of the Cabinet as “a real challenge for the events industry when it comes to getting the right messages across to key government ministers and departments”.
Hughes said: “Losing Jeremy Hunt to Health is an indication of how the success he enjoyed as a result of riding on the back of the Olympic Games triumph can turn careers around. I’m not convinced that losing the understanding and insightthat his role gave him into the dynamic world of staging major events will be a good thing for the industry as a whole.”
New DCMS Secretary of State Maria Miller, Hughes noted, now had two roles to fulfill and a plan to reduce the DCMS by 50 per cent. “The announcement that John Penrose is stepping down as Tourism Minister because of his worries over the lack of resources only serves to underline this problem.”
The HBAA, meanwhile, presented its annual awards to acknowledge outstanding achievements by members at its Forum’s opening dinner last night (6 September.
Winners announced on the night were:
The John Rees Community Award for environmental or health related work: Dartington Hall
Information Technology Award: Agent winner Zibrant; Venue winner Wyboston Lakes
Graduate Development Award: IHG Intercontinental Hotels
Social Media Award: Agent winner: Silverdoor; Venue winner Sundial Group
Agent of the Year Award: Conference Care
Peter Ducker commented: “The HBAA Annual Awards celebrate the hard work and commitment of our members; my heart felt congratulations go out to everyone.”
The first day of the Forum saw the release of the HBAA White Paper on Strategic Meeting Management Programmes; a presentation by the CEO of Social Enterprise UK and a light-hearted but rather muddled Great Debate on whether technology stops you selling to your client.
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