Viscount Thurso (LD)

My Lords, I declare my interests as president of the Tourism Society of the United Kingdom, and all the other things I am involved in within the hospitality industry—none of which now, sadly, is remunerated. I congratulate the Minister on underlining the importance of the hospitality and tourism industry to the United Kingdom. Certainly, I believe that it is one of our great growth industries and has tremendous potential for the future. We are supportive of these proposals, which are broadly very sensible. The travel industry and the whole way in which people book their holidays have changed dramatically in my working lifetime and particularly over the last 15 or 20 years. The 2018 regulations were an attempt to corral some of the worst practices that were going on, with the development of the internet in particular. That they have been reviewed and considered and these proposals have been brought forward is indeed welcome. Getting rid of the two types of linked package, type A and type B, with type A going into the full package and type B disappearing, will be very welcome to many SMEs in particular. Frankly, my own little business in Scotland, that was probably in B, will be a beneficiary of that. I have spoken to as many people in the industry as I can, and there is broadly a great welcome. I ask the Minister to keep a close eye on the implementation. I am glad that the year has gone in to give people time to make the necessary changes. There are some concerns about costs. The cost to business over 10 years, which is estimated at £98 million but offset by gains of £117 million, falls on slightly different people, so there are winners and losers in this. Broadly speaking, that is not a huge factor, but I think we should keep an eye on where the costs are just to make sure that we have got that right. I ask the Minister to continue to consult with the industry, both on the implementation of these regulations and what might be done to improve them in future. With that, I welcome their introduction.