Burnham-On-Sea’s MP has this week called on the government to provide funding to help promote local tourism which has been suffering from the effects of Somerset flooding.
Tessa Munt met with Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, yesterday (Wednesday) to discuss the bid for £10,000 for a publicity campaign following poor half-term holiday trade for some tourism businesses in the Burnham area.
In a letter to the the minister following the meeting, Tessa wrote: “Somerset’s tourism businesses have had a bad February half-term holiday, with a 20% slump in visitor spending compared with last year, which is highly likely to be related to public perceptions about the extent of the flooding in Somerset. Reportedly, bookings are falling away for the peak season later in the year as well, which would be catastrophic for the area which is highly dependent upon tourism.”
“Despite several well-publicised visits and pledges of support from the Prime Minister and other Ministers, Somerset Tourism Association’s urgent request to Visit England for the relatively small amount of money required for an urgent ‘Somerset is Open for Business’ advertising and marketing campaign has fallen victim to Visit England’s need for Ministerial approval.”
She added: “Local businesspeople find it extremely frustrating that without help to counter the negative publicity which has arisen as a result of the very localised attention of national media, the problems have been exacerbated and the very people who planned to spend their holidays in Somerset have been put off from coming here.”
“It is, of course, only six weeks until the beginning of the Easter break and it is of critical importance that local businesses are able to refute the myth that Somerset is submerged. In fact, grim as it is for those who are directly affected, the reality is that only 2% of the County is flooded and none of our major visitor attractions and holiday destinations is affected.”
She added that it had been a positive and construtive meeting.
