Recommendation 6

We find it astonishing that the Minister and the Treasury were unable to tell us what assessment was made of the impact on the number of tourists coming here, not just in terms of raw visitor numbers but also the indirect benefits of their staying here. We are led to conclude that either the Treasury did not consider this or, if they did, gave little weight to DCMS’s warnings of its potential devastating impact on the industry. The Government fixed on its policy without ensuring it had the full facts before doing so. To make such a decision without considering its indirect impact, not just the direct one, is extraordinary and has already harmed the industry on which so much of our economy depends.