A push to increase out-of-season tourism in west Norfolk will negatively impact villages which don’t have the facilities to cope with the influx of visitors, a councillor has warned.
Independent councillor Jim Moriarty said the drive to bring more tourists into the area outside of the summer months could bring challenges to rural communities.
He pointed to the new West Norfolk Tourism Development Plan 2022-26, drawn up by the borough council’s tourism department, which states that “out-of-season tourism is no longer a choice but a way forward for the west Norfolk tourism industry to begin to recover”.
Mr Moriarty, who represents Massingham with Castle Acre, told a meeting of the council’s environment and community panel,: “That’s all well and good for those areas that are built to deal with numbers.
“But when you go to the villages, sometimes at the end of the summer season, residents can draw a breath and say ‘Summer’s over, we get our village back’.
“And the idea that we should spread or increase the amount of tourism, by spreading it over a whole 12 months, I suspect will be anathema to many people. They don’t know it’s coming down the road…
“I have expressed my concern before that we do target this type of ‘experiential’, 12-month tourism to places equipped to deal with it, with the resources, the toilets, the car-parking and the areas where people can enjoy refreshments etc.”
A council officer responded by saying: “is all about putting up bookable experiences that are right for the area.
“It’s not necessarily people flocking in, but more about evening out the bottlenecks of the summer, to show that there is an appeal in the autumn and winter.”
Conservative councillor Anthony Bubb, who runs a bed and breakfast in Dersingham, meanwhile argued that the borough needed to do more to make itself attractive to tourists.
He said: “I know tourism - and what we get feeded back to us by our guests is that they don’t get everything they want.
“We need someone out there to encourage people, the businesses and that, to offer what’s wanted.
“They want a cafe that’s open after 4pm. They want to find a toilet at 7pm that’s open.
“They would like a transferable car park ticket, so that when they’ve exhausted what one place has got, they haven’t got to spend a whole lot more money in another car park.
“These little things will make the tourists more welcome.”
A second council officer replied that he “agreed with everything” Mr Bubb had said.
He pointed out that car park tickets were already transferable between resort car parks but that this could be better publicised.
He added that the council was “working on ways of keeping toilets open longer”.
A number of other points were raised at the meeting, including a claim, from Conservative councillor Julian Kirk, that King’s Lynn was becoming a “poor relation” to nearby towns like Wisbech when it came to offering decent facilities for visiting boats.
He said: “You come in soaking wet one night - there’s not a toilet to be had, let alone a shower or a chandler’s anywhere.
“I think we’re missing a great opportunity there. Lovely pontoons, lovely waterfront, but there’s nowhere to spend a penny on a bad night.”
His party colleague Andy Bullen, who represents North Downham, said that while most tourists flock to the coast, the Fens should not be forgotten about as a tourist destination.
He later said however that ‘seahenge’ - the 4,000-year-old timber circle discovered at Holme-next-the-Sea in 1998 - is “one of the most magical discoveries ever in this country” and should be better marketed.
He added that more should be done to highlight the fact that Captain Vancouver was born in King’s Lynn - which could help draw Canadian visitors in particular.
An officer responded by saying that they had to be careful about promoting seahenge to large numbers of visitors, because of the sensitivity of the site, but that the pieces of seahenge held at the Lynn Museum could be promoted.
He added that the tourist department had been developing a historic trail around the Norfolk coast, which would offer insights into the area’s maritime history.
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