Olympic legacy - even English tourism will suffer

Last Thursday, the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport reported on tourism.

Our shadow minister, Don Foster, said:

"This is a damning indictment of the Government’s approach to tourism since 1997.

"Lack of investment in the industry has led to Britain’s share of the global tourism market falling.

"Ministers have got to support the industry with more than just words if they are serious about making tourism a key part of the 2012 Olympic legacy."

Wales has its own tourist organisation, which is now an arm of government after the "bonfire of the quangos". There was already minimal potential spin-off from the Olympics for us, but there are things that central government can do to encourage visitors to extend their stay into Wales (and the regions of England, for that matter) - for instance, maintaining transport links and the post office network.