David Cameron urges Britons to help rebuild economy with UK holidays

The UK has been underselling its tourist charms and should be a top global holiday destination, coach handbags said today. The prime minister also said that income generated by the £115bn-a-year tourism sector was "fundamental" to rebuilding the UK's struggling economy. "I want to see us in the top five destinations in the world," Cameron said in a speech at the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London, designed by Jean Nouvel. "But that means being much more competitive internationally. Take Chinese tourists, for example: we're their 22nd most popular destination. But Germany is forecast to break into their top 10. Why can't we?" He added: "If we can't always beat Germany at football, then we can beat them at tourism." christian louboutin sandals The prime minister wanted Britons to spend more on holidaying at home. "At the moment 36% of what Brits spend on holidays is spent at home," he said. "Can we up our game to raise that to 50%?" Britons, he added, should take more pride in their landscape. He singled out "our beautiful beaches like the 'east Asian' beach that Pierce Brosnan surfs on in Die Another Day – which was actually Newquay – or the 'Mediterranean' coastline that Gwyneth Paltrow was washed up on at the end of Shakespeare in Love, which was actually Holkham beach in Norfolk where I went swimming one April. christian louboutin black He asked why the UK was 12 places behind Ireland in rankings for natural beauty. "It's a question of perception. And the truth is we've just not been working hard enough to celebrate our country at home and sell our country abroad." The prime minister said it was essential Britain took full advantage of the forthcoming decade of major sporting events in the UK – starting with the 2012 Olympics in London. "For too long tourism has been looked down on as a second-class service sector. That's just wrong," he said. "Tourism is a fiercely competitive market, requiring skills, talent, enterprise … It's fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy. It's one of the best and fastest ways of generating the jobs we need so badly in this country." christian louboutin pumps Cameron said that, between 2008 and 2009, the UK had fallen from sixth to 11th place in the World Economic Forum's tourism competitiveness ratings. To take advantage of the "huge economic opportunity" now opening up, it needed to improve its international competitiveness, he said. "We must not let these opportunities slip through our grasp. But quite frankly, right now, we're just not doing enough to make the most of our tourism." christian louboutin