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Legoland and Madame Tussauds owner attacks 'cr*ppy' culture department
The chief executive of Merlin Entertainments, the owner of Legoland Parks, the London Eye and Madame Tussauds, has hit out at the Government's "sinful" refusal to cut tourism VAT in Britain
Nick Varney, the chief executive of leisure giant Merlin Entertainments, branded the Department for Culture, Media and Sport a "third rate cr*ppy department" as he attacked the Government's "sinful" response to calls to cut VAT on Britain's tourism industry.
Merlin is part of a coalition of tourism companies which has been lobbying the Government to follow the example of rival European countries, such as France and Germany, and take advantage of EU laws that allow a lower rate of VAT to be applied to businesses such as hotels and visitor attractions.
UK tourism businesses are subject to the current 20pc rate of VAT which organisations such as the British Hospitality Association and Butlins claim puts the tourist industry in this country at a competitive disadvantage compared to its European rivals. The average rate of VAT applied to visitor accommodation across the rest of the EU is 10.8pc while 19 member states have a rate of 10pc or less.
Mr Varney said the Government's response has been "sinful" despite campaigners using the Treasury's own economic modelling to prove that a cut in tourism VAT from 20pc to 5pc would boost GDP by £4bn a year, generate more tax and create an additional 80,000 jobs over a 2-3 year period.
"Part of the problem is we don't have a dedicated tourism minister," Mr Varney said on Thursday. "[Instead] we have a third rate cr*ppy department called DCMS."
Mr Varney delivered his attack as Merlin Entertainments posted a 6.7pc like-for-like increase in revenue for the 36 weeks to September 6.
The group said its Legoland Parks continued to receive a boost from The Lego Movie although growth at its "midway attractions", which include Madame Tussauds and The Dungeons, was tempered by political unrest in Bangkok and the extreme cold snap in the US earlier this year, which forced schools to make up for lost studying time during the holidays.
A DCMS spokesman said: "It is absolute nonsense to suggest that the Government does not recognise the important contribution the tourism sector is making to the UK economy on jobs and growth. With tourism under the stewardship of the DCMS, inbound visits to Britain are at record-breaking levels and spend is at an all-time high. We will continue to do all we can to support the sector to keep up this momentum.”