We're losing out in British tourism boom

Speaking on a debate on the state of the district, councillor Tony Squires expressed concern not enough attention was being paid to marketing the area.

He said: "We are not showing any initiative in relation to tourism in Arun. We mess around and tinker with tourism all the time but we do not have a proper tourism department '“ we are just playing with it.

"There were three or four people in the tourism department and now we are down to one, which is disgraceful. There's a lot of bureaucracy and not a lot of do."

His concerns were shared by Cllr Simon McDougall, who said Arun had missed a strong opportunity to boost its coffers by failing to increase its tourism budgets during the recession as holidaymakers stayed in Britain during 2008 and 2009.

A spokesperson for Arun District Council responded no posts had been lost in relation to tourism. But she confirmed 'restructuring' had taken place earlier this year following the departure of its tourism manager.

She said: "Up until a restructuring earlier this year, the four-person tourism team operated as a unit within economic and cultural development.

"While the team did much good work, there were clear opportunities to make better links both with the broader economic development function and with the council's marketing and public relations functions.

"The restructuring has replaced the previous tourism manager post with a more strategic marketing and communications manager, who is working closely with the economic and cultural development manager to ensure tourism is an integral part of the council's new economic strategy."

She added: "As part of this work, the Visitor Strategy 2006-2011 is being reviewed and the key priorities incorporated into the main economic strategy.

"The newly-titled tourism development officer has now moved into the long-established and highly-successful business development team, ensuring tourism businesses receive the same attention as other key sectors of the Arun economy.

"The events officer and tourism marketing officer have joined their colleagues in PR and research to provide a central team who look after all marketing and communications across the council.

"The team are currently revamping Arun's Sussex by the Sea tourism brand for a combined print and digital launch in the new year.

"The council's work to promote Arun as an ideal holiday destination for locals and visitors has been significantly boosted by bringing previously separate roles together into integrated teams."

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