Wanted: several round tables
Two small pictures in this week's Faces & Places feature a couple of winners at the recent Southport Tourism Ambassador Awards. Most readers will register a passing interest in this local event (well done, good effort) and move on. Fair enough. But there is actually a broader story behind the story that is worthy of further attention.
The Southport Tourism Ambassador Awards, or "Ammies" as they are affectionately known to the Sandgrounders, the people of Southport, are now in their third year. The awards recognise the achievements of the town's "unsung heroes" of hospitality: the Most Cheerful Bar Person or Most Welcoming Receptionist, that sort of thing. But there are also awards for Most Helpful and Friendly Driver and Most Helpful Retail Assistant, and in these categories lies a clue to what is going on in this North-west coastal resort and the region beyond.
There is an understanding here that if hospitality businesses are going to be successful they need to co-ordinate their activities with other businesses, and there needs to be an effective overall tourism strategy that includes not just hotels, restaurants and pubs, but also - for example - local bus operators, taxi companies and retail outlets. To make tourism work it takes input and the right attitude from everyone involved, from the local council and chamber of commerce to the most cheerful bar person and friendliest bus driver.
This is such an obvious point that you may wonder why it needs to be made. Answer: because, all too often, there is not enough "joined-up" activity at a local, or even a national, level to make tourism work.
If there was one benefit from the foot-and-mouth crisis of last year it was that the Government and the public became aware of the importance of tourism to the UK economy. For the first time, the Treasury began to recognise that the £64b generated by the industry each year is actually quite useful and worth supporting. As a result, opportunities for the industry to talk to the Government were created and a dialogue initiated that didn't exist before.
At the same time, local tourist authorities and operators, regional development agencies and local councils began talking to each other about tourism, where in the past they had often operated separately. Joined-up activity started appearing everywhere. So far, so good.
There is a danger, however, that with the foot-and-mouth crisis over and the effect of 11 September beginning to fade, the dialogue will start to break down again.
In Southport, the forum for discussion exists in the shape of the Southport Tourism Business Network (STBN). This feeds in to the local council, which has an "events strategy" to make the town an all-year-round attraction. In turn, the STBN connects with the Mersey Partnership, a broader body working to make tourism effective in the North-west.
The Southport "Ammies" demonstrate that individuals at every level of tourism and hospitality can make a difference and can be part of a team and that the team ethic is the only way forward for tourism in this country. The Government's recent decision to merge the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council suggests that thinking along these lines is happening at the highest level. It also needs to happen locally.
Magnus Magnusson's famous Mastermind catch phrase was, "I've started, so I'll finish." But when it comes to the joined-up tourism conversation, we need to say: "We've started, so we'll carry on." Like Southport.
Forbes Mutch
Editor
Caterer & Hotelkeeper
