To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what forecast he has on the growth of inbound Channel tourism following the construction of the Channel tunnel; and if he will make a statement.

Numbers of visitors to this country from the rest of Europe have been rising, and in 1987 reached the record number of 9·3 million. While the opening of the Channel tunnel is bound to encourage further growth, it is not possible to forecast how many of the 15 million expected travellers using the tunnel in 1993—the first year of operation—will be incoming.