Watford MP Richard Harrington met with representatives from Travelodge on August 18 to discuss job creation, and how to unleash the potential of the tourism industry.
Mr Harrington met the Hotel Manager for Watford Travelodge, Khurram Gouhar, and the hotel team of 24 staff, to discuss how the tourism industry creates jobs, helps people out of long-term unemployment and creates long term careers both in Watford and across the UK. Khurram joined Travelodge Watford in July 2014 after working at various hotels across Hertfordshire. Watford’s Travelodge opened on Market Street in 2006, and is estimated to bring an additional £2million to the local economy every year. Khurram said: “I was thrilled to welcome our local MP Richard Harrington to our newly refurbished hotel. “Mr Harrington was very interested in finding out how we operate a successful hotel in Watford town centre. He enjoyed meeting the team and listening to their experiences on how they had gained employment and successfully climbed the career ladder at Travelodge. Mr Harrington was also interested in finding out more about our hotel investment and how Travelodge is changing and is on a journey to become Britain’s hotel brand for value. “It was great to discuss ways of how we can boost British tourism with Mr Harrington, and to demonstrate the impact that our industry has on people’s lives in terms of developing long term careers, much like I have. Mr Harrington is clearly a massive advocate for the industry and I’m confident we will see some real progress as a result of today’s meeting.” Richard added “Thanks to Khurram and the team for welcoming me at Travelodge. I really do think that hospitality and tourism as an industry has a great deal to offer and that this needs to be recognised. With Watford’s UTC opening in September specialising in hospitality and tourism, with support from local business such as the Grove and Hilton Hotels, we really are moving towards a vocational education for young people which gives due respect to this industry. “Therefore we must continue to work on realising the wider potential of the industry, creating more local jobs, and it is great that Travelodge are fully on board with this. I will be taking forward a number of their recommendations in Parliament, and look forward to working with them more closely over the coming months”
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