ABSTRACT
The Development of Tourism Act, 1969, which set up the British Tourist Authority (BTA) and the national Tourist Boards for England, Scotland and Wales with defined powers, structures and functions, also provided a powerful stimulus to the development of a regional organisation for tourism in Great Britain. The National Tourist Boards, especially the English one, gave high priority to the establishment of a regional organisation which provided a complete and comprehensive cover of their respective countries. The result was the creation and growth of non-statutory Regional Tourist Boards in England during the first half of the 1970s. In some parts of the country regional boards were based on existing local or regional tourism organisations but in other parts where no such local body existed and where there was a lack of indigeneous support, especially from local government circles, the successful formation of such Regional Tourist Boards took a considerable time (Bowes, 1988).
