Cycle hire businesses: invite your local MP to visit

According to the Tourism Society, British Tourism Week "celebrates the contribution of the tourism industry, in all its forms, to our local and national economies, to wealth creation, regional regeneration and job creation."

MPs across the UK are being invited to visit tourism businesses in their constituency on Friday 14th March. The Tourism Society has penned a letter (included below) for businesses to personalise.

The Tourism Society is part of the Tourism Alliance Campaign. The invite to MPs is in order to highlight that the Government has reduced VisitBritain’s funding by 18 percent (£9m) over the next three years.

"This cut is the latest in a series of Government decisions that demonstrate the downgrading of tourism’s importance to national policy," says the Tourism Alliance.

VisitBritain, the national tourist agency, wants to encourage more tourism businesses to recommend cycling to customers. At number nine in a ten point green business list is ‘Promote car free activities’:

"Exploring England without a car can be fun, so in addition to promoting local public transport options why not suggest walking/cycling routes and cycle hire companies in your destination."

SAMPLE LETTER***** Name of your MP*****
The House of Commons,
The Palace of Westminster,
London SW1A 0AA.*****Date*****Dear *****Name of your MP*****,An invitation to show your support for British Tourism WeekCome and visit us on Friday 14th March!As you will know British Tourism Week is being held between 10th-18th March 2008. It celebrates the contribution of the tourism industry, in all its forms, to our local and national economies, to wealth creation, regional regeneration and job creation.MPs across the UK are being invited to visit tourism businesses in their constituency on Friday 14th and we’d be delighted if you, as our MP, could show your support for tourism’s contribution to your constituency by visiting us on that day.Tourism is Britain’s 5th biggest industry, our third largest export earner, employs around 2.2 million people and is worth £85billion a year to the UK economy. We play our part in that success and we would be very pleased to show you how.If you are free on that day, perhaps your office could give us a call on *****your telephone number***** to arrange your visit? We would also really appreciate a supportive statement about British Tourism Week and the importance of tourism here in *****constituency name***** which we could use for the local press.We do hope that you can join us on Friday 14th March to demonstrate that tourism is everyone’s business, across the whole country and especially here in ***** constituency name*****.

Yours sincerely,