The British Tourist Authority has called its tourism summit an 'unqualified success' following its four day tour taking 40 overseas tourism chiefs across Britain to reinforce the message that 'Britain is open for business'. The BTA rolled out the red carpet on a damage limitation exercise aimed to minimise losses to the tourism industry, worth £13bn per year, following the foot and mouth crisis. The BTA, in partnership with British Airways and the tourist boards in Scotland, Wales, Cumbria and the South West, took two parties of tourism chief across the country to feed the message back to the overseas market that foot and mouth has not closed down the UK's tourism industry. Key delegates from America, Canada and Japan visited Scotland and the Lake District while a party of European tourism chiefs visited Wales, Dartmoor and Cornwall. Both parties convened in London on day four for a visit to Windsor Castle, where the Duke of Edinburgh played tour guide, followed by a trip to Chequers and Downing Street to meet the Blairs. BTA chair, David Quarmby, says that while the tour has been an 'unqualfied success', the world travel leaders' summit is just the tip of the iceberg: We have been successful in persuading 40 opinion formers that Britain is open and safe, but we have 26 million potential visitors to convince. Quarmby also raised the issue of further funding to combat the loss in business: The BTA has shown this week what can be achieved with a small amount of money. We look forward to receiving additional funding from government so we can achieve even more. President of the American Society of Travel Agents, Richard Copland, will return to the US with a clear message: We have a responsibility to give unbiased information and tell it like it. From everything that we have seen here, I believe there is no problem as far as the traveller is concerned. Swiss tourism chief, Herbert Baumann was also positive: If 99 per cent of potential Swiss visitors to Britain could see what I have seen on this trip, they would book with no problem. Despite the upbeat response to the BTA's summit, Culture Secretary Chris Smith has since expressed concerns about the US market. Speaking on GMTV's Sunday Programme last week, Smith said that the 'real worry' was how long the American market takes to recover. Following the end of the Gulf War in 1991, American tourists steered clear of Britian for 'three or four years' through misinformation. Following David Quarmby's plea for more government funding, Smith hinted that the government may give further cash to the £6m aid package: We have to make sure that we throw as many lifelines as we can to the hard-pressed tourism industry, he commented.