Foot and Mouth outbreaks, terrorist alerts, unprecedented flooding - the British tourist industry has had much endure this year. But with record numbers of overseas visitors coming to Britain, the Government would have us believe little more could be done to promote and support the nation's diverse offering of cultural, sporting and leisure attractions.

Indeed, inbound tourism has increased. But not just in the UK. Thanks to cheaper flights and the increased wealth of individuals, travel has grown across the globe. When you compare our growth rate in the UK to the global average, we under-perform by around 5m visitors to the UK each year; put another way, our tourist industry is foregoing about £3bn and around 75,000 jobs a year.

To compound the picture, more and more Britons are choosing to holiday (and therefore spend their money) abroad. In 2005 for example, the British spent around £32bn overseas. When compared to inbound visitor spending of around £17bn in the same year, we see a difference, known as the 'tourism deficit', of around £18bn.

Worryingly this deficit has been getting worse. In 1997 it was just £4bn. Tourism is now a competitive international market and Britain is losing out to competition from abroad. Is the Government responsible, or is this simply market forces adjusting to wider and ever more accessible competition?

Tourism is the UK's sixth largest industry so it is surprising that only 18 (3%) of the staff at the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) focus on tourism and not one of them is an economist. The department's budget has increased by 60% over the last 10 years alone, yet over the same period, funds to promote Britain abroad remain unchanged at £35m.

Consequently not only does DCMS lack any interest in tourism but it also lacks the influence necessary to protect the Industry from new legislation put forward by other Government departments. For example, the Licensing Act has increased the cost for B&B's to be licensed to sell alcohol from £30 for three years to £300 a year. Additionally, the Government has increased the cost of student visas by 130%, which the Tourism Alliance (a large group of respected organisations in the British tourist industry) says has deterred students from visiting the UK, resulting in a drop in revenue of £160m alone.

Thanks to devolution there are now structural problems in how Britain markets itself both here and abroad. This structure for the promotion of British tourism is based on the 1969 Tourism Act and is woefully out of date. Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) now compete with more traditional organisations such as "Visit Britain", as well as with each other. For example, in Boston, Massachusetts there are six separate UK offices promoting Britain which can only cause confusion among tourists planning trips to the UK.

Taxation is also blighting our Tourism Industry and Britain's overseas tourists currently pay around 60% more tax than visitors to other parts of Europe which is itself not known for under-taxing its citizens. In addition red tape (in many ways another form of taxation) under this government, is strangling the growth of tourism businesses and in particular that of small and medium size enterprises which constitute some 80% of the industry.

The Conservative Party recognises the importance of tourism and has established a task force, chaired by John Lewis OBE (a solicitor and former chairman and board member of the British Tourist Authority) which is conducting a wide ranging review of the industry. This study is looking at ways of putting renewed emphasis on Britain's £85bn tourism industry and will include plans for reinvigorating our destination resorts, reforming the structures and mechanisms involved in marketing Britain, harnessing tourism opportunities from the forthcoming Olympics, promoting family holidays and opportunities for green tourism.

We can rightly be proud of British tourism and of all Britain has to offer. We have beautiful countryside, a wealth of historic buildings, a strong cultural heritage, and an abundance of seaside resorts and city attractions. But in a new age of international competition no Government can sit back as we experience a steady decrease in global market share of the tourism industry. Britain has failed to react to the new rules of the game.

The Government has announced that it is to give 'Visit Britain' additional funding to assist tourism in areas affected by flood and foot and mouth disease, but this does not begin to make up for the years of neglect of thought, support and funding for the Industry which has been lamentably lacking during this administration.

Unless there is a policy shift reflecting a more pro-active and supportive role for the British tourism industry, 'Government' may well be labelled along side Foot and Mouth, terrorist alerts and flooding as unhelpful challenges to our tourism industry.