|
Marketing
the Broads
Making more
of marketing
Things to do
Improving facilities
A quality experience
Making
more from marketing
Rather than being a problem, the rise in short breaks throughout
the year presents opportunities for the Broads.
The Broads is an ideal location for those
valuing their leisure and relaxation time - for the high earners
who lead hectic stressful lives and the growing army of retired
people. Many live within 130 miles of the area, the average
distance people are prepared to travel for a short break.
The real distinctiveness of the Broads
reflects nature, peace and tranquillity. Many people feel
that for the Broads to truly play to its strengths, its future
lies in developing a centre for eco-tourism (D1.1.1)here
in the Broads.
 |
| Robert
Paul, boatyard owner |
Robert Paul, boatyard owner agrees: "We
don't need gimmicks. The main attraction is getting away and
being surrounded by nature. We could create something special
here, as long as we have the courage to do it."
So, will adverts be appearing in tube stations,
tempting stressed-out commuters? In a study by the Broads
Authority, it identified the need for a unified marketing
identity of "the Broads" to be adopted across the
tourism sector, with each organisation identifying its own
role.
Many feel that a single consortium is needed
to raise the funds and market the sector. A number of partnerships
and trading bodies are currently looking at this issue, including
the Broads Hire Boat Federation, and the Broads Authority
will take this forward.
Currently, the two major holiday companies
- Hoseasons and Blakes - act as booking agencies for the majority
of boat hire companies, marketing the Broads to holiday makers.
Currently hire boat companies are stuck with one or the other
agencies, and can't belong to both. Although recognising that
the large agencies have the marketing budgets to promote the
Broads, there is a clear feeling that these companies need
to be more flexible in allowing boat hire companies to sell
their products elsewhere.
As Len Funnel, the chairman of the Funnel
Group and Boat Hire Federation explains: " If I was approached
by a German company offering to sell holidays for me. I'd
have to refuse."
Things
to do
Local boatyard owner, Robert Paul is not alone in believing
that in order to survive, the tourist industry needs to bring
itself up-to-date. "Any boost in marketing needs to go
hand in hand with improvements in facilities and things to
do."
'Unpacking' the Broads and making visitors
aware of the area's rich cultural and natural heritage has
enormous potential for the industry.
Henry Cator, a local businessman feels
that tourism has a long way to go to reach its potential in
the Broads: "It's an industry waiting to grow up, we
just need the pride and courage to do it. We can create a
thriving economy, building on our distinctiveness, from our
delicious regionally produced food to our historical heritage
like Nelson."
And why not make the most of the Broads'
artistic heritage too … "There is a mass of talented
entertainers in Norfolk and we are not offering them a way
of being employed which allows them to do what they are good
at and to earn a decent wage from it," said Gill Warwick
of White Horse Enterprises in Neatishead.
Although keen to make more of the area's
culture, she cautioned against going gung-ho over offering
more things for visitors to do, stressing the importance of
developing activities around the local residents. "Events
have no vibrancy if they are simply staged for holiday makers.
Look at the way we all love stumbling across little fiestas
in Spanish or French villages - because we have a chance to
share in 'the real spain' or the 'real France'."
Improving
facilities
If the area wants to see a boost in visitors, the area will
undoubtedly need to see a few more developments. But industry
leaders in the area have come across problems. "There
seems to be a tendency to want to keep things small and cheap."
Says Len Funnel, Chairman of the Funnell Group.
Recently, he spent thousands of pounds
developing plans for a hotel in Potter Heigham, using an architect
to make it look good. However, by the time it had been passed
as acceptable it had been changed to such a degree that he
lost heart in pursuing the project.
"The only thing that seems acceptable around here are
small buildings with steel roofs. They say its to keep the
area how it was, but the area is man-made - how can they say
what it was like?"
A
quality experience
"Quite frankly, I find the boat quite shabby." Broads
holiday maker.
The Broads Authority has been making steps
to enhance existing facilities, by developing a Quality Charter
for businesses in the Southern Broads. This is part of a European
Charter for sustainable tourism, which signs up businesses
in National Parks. Hotels, guest houses, pubs, holiday parks,
restaurants, tea shops, canoe and bike hire outlets have signed
up, pledging to offer visitors high standards, value for money
and a warm welcome.
The hire boats will also be getting the
quality treatment. Louise Reynolds, the Broads Authority's
manager responsible for the hire boat industry is working
in partnership with local interests to help rejuvenate the
industry. She explains. "We need to concentrate on the
quality, not the quantity of hire boats on the Broads."
She points to the possibilities for a grading scheme for hire
boats incorporating standards for quality, which would give
people choice - whether they are looking forward to a boating
holiday with basics or want home from home.
She adds: "We are working in partnership
with a number of groups because there are issues outside the
hire boat industry that effect the level of enjoyment people
get when visiting the Broads."
The
Norfolk Tourism Management Partnership
Planning in the Broads
Map
The
Future of Farming - EDP24 Special
Report
Climate
change in Norfolk
|
