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22/4/09
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Issue 28 May/June 2009 £2.75
Twitter helps spread the word
Clamp plan for cheating tourists By Nicola Hyde CHEEKY tourists who have been scamming a scheme set up to promote green tourism in the New Forest could soon find their cars being clamped. The New Forest – which has won a raft of awards for its environmental awareness – offers a ten per cent discount to guests who agree to hand over their car keys when they check in to their hotel. The aim of the scheme was to encourage the tourists to explore the area on foot, and be more green – but Anthony Climpson, OBE, the tourism manager for New Forest Council says there have been some tourists who have cheated. He said: “We do a car free tourism promotion – if you come without a car you get ten per cent off. We also ask guests to give their car keys to the hotel reception for a percentage off their stay. “But some people have been taking two sets of keys and so one hotel owner came up with the idea about buying clamps. I am certainly in favour of it, because they would have to give permission for their cars to be clamped in the hotel car park to get the discount.
“It’s something we really want to do, I think its a great idea as it stops people from cheating.” The green discount is part of the Green Tourist Business Scheme, which promotes responsible tourism. Anthony has been working on the New Forest’s sustainable tourism strategy for over 20 years, earning him the best personal contribution award at the Responsible Tourism Awards. But, he said, the area didn’t always have such a successful relationship when it came to tourism. He added: “When I first came in residents used to have bumper stickers that read ‘give blood, kill a tourist.’ There was a negative feeling about tourism. We have moved on to many strategies since but the most important thing we learned is you have to put these things into action so the strategy is not just sitting on a shelf. “Now, we only favour in PR those businesses that have committed to sustainable tourism. At the end of the day, you embarrass, you cajole and you jealously only promote those that are participating and we will soon find that those businesses who aren’t involved will want to join in.”
Candidates appearing on smash-hit BBC series The Apprentice are to be given an unusual task of rebranding a traditional seaside resort. It is thought that future episodes of the show, which features Sir Alan Sugar set challenges to a group of would-be apprentices, would feature an episode dedicated to breathing life back into a dilapidated British seaside resort.
SOCIAL networking sites are being used by one tourism agency in a bid to attract more visitors. VisitEastbourne has launched profiles on Facebook and Twitter to spread news on the resort across the globe. Eastbourne Council’s tourism spokesman Coun Susan Morris said: “It’s great news that Eastbourne now has a strong online presence on the popular social networking sites as these websites are key to communicating Eastbourne’s message to a younger audience. “Offering the capability to instantly send out updates, add events and invite fans, we can build up online awareness of the resort for visitors interested in coming here. It is great that we can create more links to our official website by using sites such as Facebook and Twitter.” The ‘tweets’ have already attracted more than 70 followers, including rival tourist resorts and travel writers.