Lack of hotels is stifling tourism potential at jewels in county's crown

TOURISM in Beverley and Bridlington is being hampered by a lack of hotels, a new report states.

Both Beverley and Bridlington are traditionally regarded as the jewels in the region's tourism crown.

But consultants who carried out the study into tourism trends in the East Riding say both are suffering from a lack of "quality" serviced accommodation for visitors.

They claim the continued absence of top hotels in both towns is stifling their true potential.

In Beverley, planning permission has recently been granted for a new 80-bed hotel as part of the proposed multi-million pound Flemingate development close to Beverley Minister.

However, an operator for the hotel has yet to be announced.

Ben Gardiner, chairman of the Beverley And District Chamber Of Trade, said attracting a new hotel would only enhance Beverley's image.

He said: "Beverley is already an attractive town, but having an extra hotel or two would help bring in even more visitors.

"There was talk about converting Norwood House into a boutique hotel a few years ago, I believe that kind of development could work."

In Bridlington, an emerging masterplan for the town centre also includes provision for a major new hotel.

There have been concerns about the number of guest houses and bed-and-breakfast premises in the resort being converted back into residential use because of declining trade.

The report by consultants Scott Wilson also suggests the dominance of the holiday and caravan parks is also causing the East Riding's tourism sector to under-perform, because caravan owners tend to act and spend more like permanent residents than tourists.

Councillor Jane Evison, East Riding cabinet member for tourism, said: "We need to stress how important tourism is to the East Riding.

"I would personally challenge the reference to caravan parks not contributing enough to the tourism economy because I think they do in their own way."

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503342/s/13213f4e/l/0L0Sthisishullandeastriding0O0Cnews0CLack0Ehotels0Ekilling0Etourism0Epotential0Carticle0E32925420Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

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