Putting social tourism on the UK agenda

The UK government places great emphasis on reducing child poverty and social exclusion, which gives the Family Holiday Association a clear focus to lobby for social tourism to be incorporated in the UK’s social and welfare policies.

Since 2005 the Family Holiday Association has held a series of forums to put social tourism on the UK policy agenda. Speakers from Tourism Flanders in Belgium, ANVC in France, the UK Parliament, the Policy Research Bureau and holiday providers have highlighted the benefits of social tourism to a range of interested parties.

Gradually an informal partnership reflecting a wide range of organisations was formed and started using the following working definition of social tourism:

‘the inclusion of people living on a low income in holiday and leisure activities’.

During 2007 real progress was made towards putting social tourism in the political arena. Two forums were held to discuss social tourism and its impact on society:

Health, inclusion and economics – identifying the benefits of holidays. Organised jointly with UNISON Welfare, this forum was so successful that a second forum was requested to launch a social tourism consortium.
Social tourism strategy and consortium. More than 30 organisations attended this forum on 5 June 2007. They all supported the social tourism declaration and the intention to form a social touism consortium under the banner ‘Breaks For All’. The key speaker Gordon Marsden, MP for Blackpool South, was the first signatory to a Social Tourism Declaration for the UK:

‘We believe that too many people are excluded from the benefits provided by even a simple break away from home. Together we will work to promote social tourism for the improved well-being and happiness of society’.

The Family Fund, South London African Women’s Organisation, UNISON Welfare and the YHA (England & Wales) agreed to work with the Family Holiday Association and together they became the social tourism working party.

In the summer of 2007 the social tourism working party commissioned its first research to evaluate stated needs for support for holidays. This research was undertaken by Christel DeHaan Research Institute at Nottingham University. The research showed that holidays:

have lasting impacts on families through spending time together, improving relationships and building happy memories
allow time to relax, unwind and offer a chance to resolve issues
encourage people to face their future more positively.