The planned advertising blitz is aimed at bringing back tourists from key international markets including India, China, Australia, Japan and Canada to boost visitor numbers in the wake of the pandemic. But Rees-Mogg, in his role as Brexit opportunity and government efficiency minister, refused to sign off on the £800,000 culture department budget – part of a recovery plan between Whitehall agreed in the last spending review – despite that it separately agreed £4m for VisitBritain campaigns. International tourism this year is still 20% lower than in 2019 as a result of Covid, with a 40% drop in August due to reduced airport or flight capacity, the perception of the UK abroad and the initial bounce in travel after pandemic. Whitehall insiders have warned the Cabinet minister that many small businesses and visitor attractions are suffering as a result. Visitors from the 16 core countries account for a significant proportion of income to arts and culture institutions, including 50% of spending on heritage sites. Rees-Mogg, who is tipped to take over as business secretary under Liz Truss, is understood to be skeptical of government advertising campaigns in general and to have doubts about the value of tourism promotions in countries with populations that may decide to travel to Britain independently from . But his decision to reject the extra funding flies in the face of his regular comments championing “Global Britain” and boosting the UK’s reputation internationally, as well as leaving Britain’s tourism industry scrambling to catch up. A senior government source said: “Jacob Rees-Mogg is completely unfit for modern governance. His knee-jerk ideological stubbornness has prevented British tourism from being promoted in key international markets at a time when many industries are still being brought to their knees by Covid. He may roll with the union jack at home, but he is reluctant to fly that flag abroad.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Tourism Secretary Nigel Huddleston is understood to have raised the issue with Rees-Mogg, warning him that Britain risked falling behind other European destinations such as France, Italy and Germany in winning over foreign tourists at a time when competition for business he is intense. A source close to Rees-Mogg said: “This has been a protracted negotiation between departments. It is perfectly acceptable for ministers to question the merits of any proposed campaign. Is it the best use of taxpayers’ money and will it have the results they want to see?”
