Tourism plays a very important role in the Norfolk economy.

The East of England Tourist Board are currently producing a 10 year Regional Tourism Strategy - at the heart of which will be the acknowledgement that: 'Tourism relies to a large extent on the quality of the local environment'.

The sector is fragmented, dynamic and seasonal, making it difficult to predict and manage, but quick to adapt.

On the face of it those within the industry seem confident that they can adapt to whatever climate change throws at them, especially as many in the industry, including Geoff Skipper of NATA: 'understand it to be a gradual process'.

Climate change will have its advantages though with the likelihood of more visitors, longer seasons and a competitive edge over the increasingly uncomfortable Mediterranean.

A spokesperson for the East of England Tourist Board said: 'On a superficial level global warming seems fantastic for Norfolk tourism'. They also remarked that the potential impact of extreme weather events and the lost of wildlife habitat would be issues hard to ignore.

And what of the contribution of tourism to climate change? Its biggest impact by far being the actual movement of people.

Norfolk has a particular problem. Being so remote 80-90% of all visits to Norfolk are by car. Though this contributes directly to climate change, potentially damaging the very habitats people are going to visit, in the short term the industry cannot afford to discourage car use as this could impact the sustainability of the sector itself.