QEII Conference Centre

LONDON MEET IS JUST CAPITAL

Posted on March 13, 2024

LONDON MEET IS JUST CAPITAL

DEVON MP Kevin Foster was invited by Beverley Holidays to the recent British Holiday & Home Parks Association annual conference.

Devon MP Kevin Foster was invited by Beverley Holidays to the recent British Holiday & Home Parks Association annual conference. Torbay MP Kevin Foster was the guest of Paignton’s Beverley Holidays at February’s annual conference of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association.

Held at the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster, just a short distance from Parliament, the event was attended by representatives from many of Britain’s 3000-plus holiday parks. The MP was welcomed to the conference by Beverley directors Claire Flower, Nicola Furneaux and Gary Furneaux whose family business last year marked its 65th anniversary.

Started originally by Claire and Nicola’s grandparents in the 1950s, Beverley Holidays is today one of Devon’s most thriving park enterprises providing over 50,000 bed nights each year. It employs up to 180 people in the main holiday season, and maintains 70 full-time posts all year round with training opportunities for those seeking a career in tourism and hospitality.

Kevin Foster heard at the conference how the park was currently investing in new top-end accommodation and guest facilities for visiting families and holiday home buyers in 2024: “For 65 years, Beverley Holidays has been making magical holiday memories for those who visit our beautiful bay at the heart of the English Riviera,” he said. “For Torbay, family fun is a serious business, with thousands of local jobs and many businesses supported by our holiday parks.

“They make our bay what it is, and it was great to join the team from Beverley Holidays at the conference to reflect on how national policy can further support them,” added Kevin Foster. Claire Flower told the MP that Beverley was proud to be able to play a major role in the tourism economy of East Devon, and that its visitors supported many other local businesses.

The conference, she said, had coincided with the publication of a new independent study which examined the economic impact of holiday parks in the UK. It found that parks generate £12.2bn in visitor expenditure each year in the UK and provide over 226,000 FTE jobs whilst representing 5% of the GDP of all UK tourism.

Conference Unites Parks And Politicians

Posted on April 4, 2016

Conference Unites Parks And Politicians

BH&HPA - ADelegates from parks across Britain were joined by senior politicians and national tourism chiefs at this January’s annual conference of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association.

Held at the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster, the event welcomed an array of high-profile speakers on a wide range of subjects which impact on the parks industry.

It was also an opportunity for many park owners to engage with their local MPs who came from the nearby Houses of Parliament to attend a lobby lunch hosted by BH&HPA.

The forward-facing theme of the conference was taken up by one of its first keynote speakers, cabinet minister and Secretary of State for tourism John Whittingdale. Mr Whittingdale told delegates to be in no doubt that the Government acknowledged and valued greatly the enormous contribution made by park businesses to the UK economy. He explained the Government’s approach to tourism support through the Five Point Plan, and added that the Prime Minister was in Cumbria that very day announcing further support following the recent flooding.

Also taking the platform as a long-time champion of Britain’s visitor industry was Lord Lee of Trafford who first addressed the BH&HPA conference 29 years ago. Serving then as tourism minister, he told delegates of the passionate belief he still holds in the need to support tourism businesses, not least because of the employment opportunities they provide. Lord Lee gave his views of successive governments’ approach to tourism, underlining that the industry needed to continue to lobby for the recognition it deserves.

The challenges faced by residential parks were addressed by Christopher Chope MP who was chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mobile Homes in the previous Parliament. Mr Chope, who was a minister in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, explained how parks homes are viewed in Parliament and emphasised the need for MPs to be invited to visit parks themselves.

Other speakers included Philip Collins, the celebrated Times columnist and former chief speech writer to Tony Blair, who shared many eyebrow-raising political predictions with the conference. On a lighter note, TV presenter and actor Warwick Davies – whose film career includes roles in Harry Potter and Star Wars – spoke of his life-long love of caravanning. His amusing anecdotes took in both his early caravan experiences with his mum and dad, and the motorhome stays on parks which he enjoys today with his wife and children.

BH&HPA’s conference was prefaced by the previous day’s BH&HPA Marketplace at the Hilton on Park Lane where park owners and managers met with a myriad of different industry suppliers. The business ‘speed dating’ concept – where would-be suppliers are given just 12 minutes to put their case to prospective park customers – was judged a great success by those on both sides of the tables.