Political

Can overseas holidays be a force for good?

Airport departure boardOn Monday 20 September I’m chairing a fringe meeting at the Liverpool Liberal Democrat conference titled “Can overseas holidays be a force for good?”.

Tourism employs 200 million people worldwide and is responsible for 11% of global GDP. In the Liberal Democrats there have often been a mix of views: concern about its environmental impact yet also support for efforts to attract more tourists to the UK and a welcoming of closer links across national boundaries.

Confirmed to speak is David Norman, Director of Campaigns at WWF and Luke Pollard, ABTA’s Head of Public Affairs. Having worked with David for a while when we were both in previous jobs and having also often praised Luke’s use of YouTube, I’m really looking forward to see how this discussion shapes up and what they – and the audience – have to say.

Other events I’m doing at the LibDem conference include:

2 responses to “Can overseas holidays be a force for good?”

  1. Observing guests who visit our apartments in Bavaria, I would say the answer is definitely yes. Certainly our village here is almost totally dependent on tourism. We work hard to get our guests from the UK to come here by train and can offer them free use of buses and trains in the area when they get here. If fact, we have just won a national German award for encouraging environmentally friendly travel. If I can help with any other information, let me know. Sorry I can’t be at the conference – it is certainly a big surprise to see LibDems discussing tourism.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All comments and data you submit with them will be handled in line with the privacy and moderation policies.