Moving Greenwich Mean Time forward one hour into Central European Time could give a substantial financial boost…
Moving Greenwich Mean Time forward one hour into Central European Time could give a substantial financial boost to Britain’s £76 billion a year tourism industry, VisitBritain said today.
VisitBritain’s comments come in advance of a new Bill, that proposes to move Greenwich Mean Time forward by an hour, being debated in Parliament later this week.
Proposed by Nigel Beard MP, the Private Members Bill would advance time in England and Wales by one hour throughout the year (GMT 1 hour in winter; GMT 2 in summer). This would provide us with an extra hour of evening daylight after work or school on every day of the year. The Bill would devolve the decision on whether to change from Greenwich Mean Time to the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
The most recent report* that examined the potential impact of changing to Central European Time estimated that it would generate an additional £1.2 billion in spending and, in turn, provide over £100 million in additional revenue for HM Treasury from VAT and excise duty. However, as this research is ten years old the potential benefits to the tourism industry alone could now be even more extensive.
Tourism is already one of the largest industries in Britain, worth some £76 billion and accounting for around 4.5% of GDP. Tourism is predicted to be a long-term growth industry and British Tourism has the potential to be worth well over £100 billion by 2010.
Craig Beaumont, VisitBritain’s Government Affairs Officer, said:
“Putting the clocks forward by an hour would provide a huge boost for British Tourism.
“The extra hour of daylight in the evenings would encourage more people to take advantage of local tourist attractions all year round. Tourism is already one of the major growth industries for the British economy – and this Bill could give the industry a big push into meeting its target of becoming a £100 billion a year by 2010. “
The group will start their weekend with a flight on the British Airways London Eye, rated the highest ranking tourist attraction in England by VisitBritain’s latest Visitor Attractions Trends England 2003. They will then lunch at cafe 2 at the Tate Modern, followed by a tour of the gallery and will then have the opportunity to explore the capital. In the evening they will have dinner with Visit London, ensuring they gain a direct perspective into attracting visitors to the capital. They will follow dinner with the bright lights of the West End as they head for the Apollo Victoria Theatre and a performance of Saturday Night Fever.
Other highlights of the weekend include an early morning river cruise to see the crown jewels at the Tower of London, a tour of Spitalfields and Brick Lane markets and a tour of the historic sights of the East End. They will end their weekend by a four-course dinner and dancing evening on board the Bateaux London.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
