THE tourism industry must not be overlooked or belittled as a way to create jobs and revive the economy, Welcome to Yorkshire’s chief has warned business leaders in York.

Gary Verity said funders and investors needed to realise tourism was one of the fastest ways to create jobs, especially for young people, and that the industry had created 4,000 new posts in the last two years.

Speaking at the fourth annual York Business Leaders Forum, held at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, he said that the Government and investors needed to understand the way the industry could respond rapidly.

He said: “If we want to grow the economy with relatively small investment, then this is a sector that can do that, and it provides jobs for young people.

“If you’re running an attraction and get extra visitors, you have to take staff on.

“If you know visitor numbers are going to halve, you’re going to have to lay staff off. It is a sector that can react very quickly.”

He said the industry was not always regarded as highly as it should be. “Don’t let anybody tell you these are cheap jobs on minimum wage for young people.There are very few other industries which you can go into as a young person and be general manager of your own establishment by 25.

“If you’re bright you will get promoted very quickly in this sector, and I know of assistant hotel managers in York who are under 35 and earn £90,000 a year.”

But he said this was not reflected by investment by the Government.

He said: “We have a challenge because we’re caught between a confident and fully resourced Visit Scotland, which will get £56 million a year from Westminster to the do job that Welcome to Yorkshire does, and London, which has got a budget of £54 million to promote London as a place to do business and to visit.

“As of April, our funding will go from £10 million per year to zero. We haven’t had a cut, we have had a cessation.”

But he said its 3,000 members paid for membership and some large businesses invested £10,000 a year in the organisation.

Further details over the funding of the organisation, which still plans to spend more than £1 million on marketing in the next year, are expected to be revealed at its annual conference, which is to be held in York next month.