VisitBritain chair slams grumpy Brits for poor service

Christopher Rodrigues, the chairman of VisitBritain, has spoken out against the bad service culture of British workers, warning it could harm the hospitality industry even further than necessary in this difficult economic period.

The government's tourism boss warned in The Independent newspaper today that shoddy service and high prices were putting tourists off from visiting the UK. He added that 50,000 industry jobs could be lost during the recession and that providing good service and high standards were key to businesses' survival.

The criticism follows former tourism minister Margaret Hodge's claim last year that UK hotels were expensive and had issues over quality.

What do you think? Are the criticisms fair or should the tourist board concentrate on promoting the best of the industry?

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