The British government is pulling back its support of a hotel star rating system, but that doesn’t mean the program is going anywhere.
The Independent reported the British government favors a consumer-led system. But VisitEngland, one of the organizers of the national star rating system, said the existing program will be updated and not dissolved.
John Penrose, the British minister of tourism, wrote in a 1 February blog that consumer-driven websites are increasingly important, and he advised travelers not to “take any one source as gospel.”
The minister is simply questioning whether the public sector has a role to play in this area, said Jeremy Brinkworth, VisitEngland’s head of business development: “I don’t think he’s saying the grading isn’t necessary. It really should be for the industry to decide what happens what with the grading schemes.”
As the national tourism organization, VisitEngland gets an annual grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to fund all of its activities. As the government pulls support from the national ratings program, it likely will pull some funding as well.
“What we’re trying to do is protect our marketing funds,” Brinkworth said. The ratings system itself is “already to a large extent self-financing,” he added. It’s not funded by the taxpayer; it’s funding by the travel industry and the support of the travel industry.
Fees for accommodation ratings are not expected to change at VisitEngland. Each member of the ratings programs—the National Quality Assessment Scheme and Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme—will continue to have profiles and images posted on EnjoyEngland.com and VisitBritain.com with links to international websites.
Source
The Independent reported the British government favors a consumer-led system. But VisitEngland, one of the organizers of the national star rating system, said the existing program will be updated and not dissolved.
John Penrose, the British minister of tourism, wrote in a 1 February blog that consumer-driven websites are increasingly important, and he advised travelers not to “take any one source as gospel.”
The minister is simply questioning whether the public sector has a role to play in this area, said Jeremy Brinkworth, VisitEngland’s head of business development: “I don’t think he’s saying the grading isn’t necessary. It really should be for the industry to decide what happens what with the grading schemes.”
As the national tourism organization, VisitEngland gets an annual grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to fund all of its activities. As the government pulls support from the national ratings program, it likely will pull some funding as well.
“What we’re trying to do is protect our marketing funds,” Brinkworth said. The ratings system itself is “already to a large extent self-financing,” he added. It’s not funded by the taxpayer; it’s funding by the travel industry and the support of the travel industry.
Fees for accommodation ratings are not expected to change at VisitEngland. Each member of the ratings programs—the National Quality Assessment Scheme and Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme—will continue to have profiles and images posted on EnjoyEngland.com and VisitBritain.com with links to international websites.
Source