Expanding regional opportunities

Chamber Festival – it’s good to talk

By Claudia Congrave

Sustainability, business opportunities and expanding local areas dominated discussions that took place throughout the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s Festival of Business campaign last month.

Taking place throughout June, the five-week-long campaign allowed businesses across all sectors to network, learn and celebrate the wider business community represented by the Chamber group.

Supported by headline sponsors Aston University, the events informed attendees of the plans to revive the region post-pandemic and heard from regional councils, the Staffordshire Local Enterprise Group, as well as Chamber members Air IT, Thornton and Lowe, Inspired Energy and more.

As part of the campaign’s second, Solihull-focused week, an event titled ‘In Conversation with Tony Elvin and Jason Wouhra’ saw the two Chamber presidents (Solihull and Asian Business) outline their plans to shape two of the biggest business communities during their respective tenures.

Mr Elvin, also general manager of Touchwood shopping centre, said he wanted to continue extending Chamber support to local businesses.

Closely aligned with these plans were his aspirations to establish Touchwood as a leader in the borough’s journey towards Net Zero by 2041, having been the first UK shopping centre to achieve the ISO 50001 certification for energy management.

ABCC president Jason Wouhra discussed plans to reach out to the many Asian-owned businesses across the country.

He said: “Most Asian businesses, I’m sure, would say that the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce has served our community very well in the last 30 years. My aim in the next couple of years is to really look at the nationalisation of our brand and building up our long standing reputation.”

Looking ahead to a future of opportunity, the event outlined a number of upcoming events that would put the region at centre stage, including the construction of the HS2 railway and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Job seekers across Solihull were told to expect the creation of 400 new apprenticeships and 1,100 placements, targeted at the unemployed and recent graduates, as a result of HS2. This was in addition to the 43,000 roles available during the Commonwealth Games, due to be held in Birmingham next year.

Claire Barker, head of communications and engagement at the Urban Growth Company, said that Solihull and surrounding areas will also see the building of 5,000 new homes this year, as well as 650,000 square metres of commercial space, which will be bigger than Birmingham’s Paradise, Arena Central and Brindley Place combined.

Scaling up: Jason Wouhra

Green ambitions: Tony Elvin

Tourism plan needs tax-free shopping

A new plan to drive recovery in the tourism sector has been welcomed, but business leaders have expressed their disappointment over a lack of reference to the importance of tax-free shopping for international visitors.

The Government’s Tourism Recovery Plan sets out how domestic tourism can recover to prepandemic levels by 2022, and international tourism by 2023.

As part of the plan, a £10m voucher scheme is due to be launched by the National Lottery, whereby players will have the chance to claim vouchers to redeem at tourist attractions in the UK.

A rail pass for ‘staycationers’ will also be launched later this year, helping to make it easier and more sustainable for domestic tourists.

The new pass will build on the success of the BritRail pass, which is sold through tourism outfit VisitBritain and currently gives international visitors flexible travel across the country, as well as providing discounted entry to tourism attractions.

Before the pandemic, England looked set to hit 100 million domestic overnight trips in 2020. In 2019, 41 million international visitors came to the UK for business or leisure, spending more than £28bn.

Henrietta Brealey, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said that the tourism industry had been ‘rocked to its core’ and the plan make sensible suggestions on how to boost hard hit sectors.

She said: “It’s fair to say the tourism industry has been rocked to its core by the pandemic and it’s reassuring to see that the Government has a blueprint in place to revitalise the sector.

‘Inbound tourists make a huge contribution to the West Midlands visitor economy’

“The plan contains a number of sensible options which will offer a boost to the hospitality, retail and events sectors among others – we also welcome the offer on rail passes for staycations which will not only drive up consumer demand for travel but also help to reduce congestion on the roads. "The Government is currently reviewing its policy on Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights and reducing this onerous tax would also compliment the broader objectives of the plan in spurring domestic demand for travel.

“It was also pleasing to see specific focus around maximising the benefits of the 2022 Commonwealth Games – the project is expected to create thousands of jobs in our city and will play a vital role in stimulating an economic recovery as we emerge from the pandemic.”

But Ms Brealey added that Government may wish to revisit its policies on ending tax-free shopping for tourists next year.

She said: “Nevertheless, it’s disappointing to see a lack of reference to the importance of taxfree shopping for international visitors – a policy which was inexplicably jettisoned by the Treasury last year.

“Inbound tourists make a huge contribution to the West Midlands visitor economy and tax free shopping served as a huge incentive to international visitors.

“We would urge the Government to revisit this policy as it would not only enhance the appeal of our region but also the reputation of the UK as a global tourist destination.”