Hampshire’s tourism bosses must work together to take advantage of an “ex-plosion of growth” in the industry, an expert told the county’s business leaders.

Ken Robinson, chairman of Tourism South East, said the internet was increasingly revolutionising consumer habits and business practices.

He told Hampshire Chamber of Commerce that tourism was set for an ‘explosion in growth’ as more people across the world get the time and money to travel.

He was speaking to an audience of more than 40 chief executives and senior directors at Portsmouth’s Mary Rose Museum, one of Hampshire’s most successful visitor attractions.

Pointing to the ways we research and choose our holidays he said travel agencies, printed brochures and star ratings were rapidly giving way to online booking, consumer reviews and other user-generated information.

Mr Robinson said: “It took the hotel group Hilton 93 years to be able to offer 610,000 rooms in 88 countries. The community rental website Airbnb, where you can find accommodation direct from a host, has taken just four years to source 650,000 rooms in 192 countries and it’s already worth more than Hilton. That is the power of the internet.”

He highlighted tourism’s importance to Hampshire’s economic growth, saying museums, attractions, hotels and other providers should work together to champion their areas, adding: “That doesn’t always come naturally as many will see themselves as being mutually competitive but I believe it is absolutely essential.”

He called for the Government to do more to support tourism so that the UK could compete more strongly with other countries, saying: “The Government says it recognises the potential of tourism but taxes it much more highly than our competitors and is not doing enough to help local authorities and businesses to achieve our potential.”

Mr Robinson, of Exbury, has worked in tourism for more than 50 years. He was managing director of the Beaulieu Motor Museum.

As well as being a policy advisor to the UK government he has been a UN tourism advisor and chair of both the Tourism Alliance and the Tourism Society.

Hampshire Chamber chief executive Stewart Dunn said: “Ken gave us a fascinating talk, making the point that tourism locally, n0ationally and internationally is a vital part of the economy and deserves to be supported.”