The lack of a high-profile elected leader for the West risks the region falling behind other parts of England, businesses fear.
Powerful elected mayors, such as former Cabinet minister Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, have given the northern city more clout in Westminster, according to firms in the region.
But the position of West of England's ‘metro mayor' has yet to achieve much public recognition.
A survey of 400 businesses in the region showed that 70% felt that the West of England was being upstaged by other devolved regions with directly elected mayors.
They said the national and international profile enjoyed by Mr Burnham, his equivalent in Birmingham Andy Street, and mayor of London Sadiq Khan far outshone that of the West of England, where Tim Bowles is not seeking re-election.
The businesses polled in the survey raised concerns regarding the region’s ability to compete for political attention and encourage inward investment from within the UK and overseas.
The role of West of England Mayor was created in 2017 but turnout was less than 30%. It covers Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset, but the directly elected mayor of Bristol has generally enjoyed a far higher profile than the regional role.
Many commentators also fear that North Somerset not being involved lessens its impact, something 64% of firms polled by Business West agreed with.
James Durie, chief executive of West of England Initiative at Business West, said: “On behalf of the business community I’d like to recognise the progress in establishing Weca in the region over the last four years.
“This has made our local governance more joined up on vital issues like transport, planning and skills, after many years of disjointed political relationships across our area.
“We are calling upon the next West of England Mayor to build upon these foundations to accelerate and unlock the delivery of clean and inclusive growth and prosperity.
“We call upon the next West of England Mayor to engage with our business communities to create a powerful shared agenda and programme of change and prosperity and to rise to the challenges we face in 2021 and beyond.”
Two former MPs are standing for election on May 6. Labour’s Dan Norris and the Liberal Democrats’ Stephen Williams both previously enjoyed Westminster careers.
Mr Norris represented the former Wansdyke seat from 1997-2010 but was defeated by Jacob Rees-Mogg in the new North East Somerset seat in 2010 and Mr Williams represented Bristol West from 2005-2015.
The Conservatives have selected Samuel Williams and the Green Party’s candidate is Jerome Thomas.
A business-oriented hustings event arranged by Business West and the Centre for Cities takes place on April 28.
