Morpeth flooding review highlights flaws of authorities
Jan 8 2009 by Dave Black, The Journal
Pretty market towns try to do better
PEOPLE, businesses and organisations in two Northumberland market towns are to be asked for their ideas on how they can offer an even warmer welcome to visitors – and attract their spending power.
Morpeth and Hexham are well-established as two of the most popular destinations on the county’s tourism trail, with their historic buildings, rich heritage, niche shops and picturesque parks and riverside walks.
But now, in the face of increasing competition from cheap flights abroad and people tightening their belts in the economic downturn, they are having to closely examine what they can do to tempt more day-trippers and short-stay holidaymakers. Over the next few months, the two towns will be collaborating on a Market Town Welcome initiative, to look at new ways of boosting their visitor economies and attracting fresh investment.
With funding from One North East, they will examine what sort of packages they offer visitors to see how they can be improved.
The Greater Morpeth Development Trust and Hexham Community Partnership are leading the project, which is being co-ordinated by Miller Research, to bring together residents, businesses and heritage and culture groups to develop a tourism vision for the towns over the next decade.
They will look at what makes Morpeth and Hexham distinctive as visitor attractions, what stories about the towns would interest visitors and what can be done to make them even more alive as a visitor attraction.
Initial workshops will be held later this month to launch the process, but before that a business survey and further information about the initiative is already available on a www.markettownwelcome.co.uk website.
Yesterday David Lodge, chief executive of Greater Morpeth Development Trust, said: "Both Morpeth and Hexham already have distinctive identities as attractive Northumberland market towns.
"Through this initiative we will be focusing on developing our strengths to bring more visitors into our towns, as well as encouraging them to stay longer.’’
Tamsin Beevor of Hexham Community Partnership added: "Tourism could be our greatest asset, but right now visitors tell us we have some way to go. Better shopping, places to eat and upmarket accommodation, is this what visitors in the 21st Century are looking for?’’
One way everyone can get involved is to send photographs of Morpeth and Hexham, picking out both their good and bad features, to sam@miller-research.co.uk, or by uploading them directly to the www.markettownwelcome.co.uk website.
