Why Norfolk is at the heart of TV tourism campaign
Holiday firm Hoseasons yesterday began shooting a �1m national television advert for the 2013 season, focusing entirely on Norfolk scenes as part of a drive to celebrate the best of what the county can offer holiday-makers.
The campaign, which will feature on both terrestrial and satellite television, is due to begin in the new year, and it underlines how Norfolk's �2.5bn-a-year tourism industry, which is 30pc bigger than Cornwall's, is a crucial part of the local economy.
Describing it as a 'marvellous showcase for Norfolk's tourism offering', Simon Altham, commercial director of the Lowestoft-based holiday firm, said it was hoped to preview the advert at the EDP Tourism Awards in November.
And filming started as the region's tourism businesses gathered in Ipswich yesterday for a conference about the state of the industry.
The film crew and locally-based models began the day shooting on the beach at Waxham, north of Great Yarmouth, depicting a family running into the surf, playing around the groynes and enjoying a barbecue.
The group arrived at Horning, on the Broads, just in time to shoot a pub lunch at the Swan, followed by a cruise on a hire boat.
Today, they are heading for Trimingham in north Norfolk to shoot clips at Woodland Holiday Park, showing the luxury of Scandinavian timber lodges and the indoor pool.
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Mr Altham said: 'We are immensely proud of our East Anglian heritage and we want to show what a variety of holiday options there is, from going on the beach and visiting the Broads to staying at a holiday park.
'Most importantly, we are not showing a family down on the beach in shorts and T-shirts. Rather we are filming them in full wetsuits and hoodies.
'We are showing Norfolk as a year-round destination you can enjoy whatever the weather.'
He said the advert would show the Broads as 'not just about the boats but enjoying the various places you can stop off'.
Mr Altham said they had been on and off television for a number of years, but had chosen to launch a new advert for next season to highlight the region's tourism potential, after what had been disappointing weather this summer.
