Cruising for a bruising

I've never been taken by the idea of cruising. All those rich Americans, confined spaces and forced-bonhomie deck games before dinner with the crashing bores at the captain's table. Ugh.

But National Cruise Week kicks off this weekend to attempt to convince us that cruising is the one sector of the travel industry to have put on numbers during the recession. It's a week of events and promotion by umbrella organisation, the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) to raise awareness and highlight new cruise options away from the traditional grab-a-granny image.

Good timing then by the Independent newspaper, which reported this weekend on an escalating scrap between erstwhile shipping hub Liverpool and latter-day cruisers' fave Southampton.

The Hampshire port is reported to be trying to block Liverpool's plans to upgrade the historic Pier Head, designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2004, into a port of embarkation and arrivals.

The owner of Southampton docks, Associated British Ports, has asked the Department for Transport to throw out Liverpool's plans for a turnaround terminal.

It is said to be furious that Liverpool received £20m in public money to redevelop the City of Liverpool Cruise Terminal at Princes Dock.

But cruising is booming and surely Liverpool, with its rich maritime heritage and Capital-of-Culture regeneration boost, is an ideal location to develop a new cruise hub?

Besides, the terminal will welcome the Queen Mary 2, Cunard's flagship cruise liner with 3000+ passengers in October. In March this year the £22m Liverpool Canal Link opened up access to the historic waterfront, generating an expected 200,000 extra visitors and additional tourism spend of £1.9m.

Has Liverpool played dirty? And does the city even want cruise lines chugging up the Mersey? I'll be discussing this topic with Duncan Barkes on City Talk Breakfast this Tuesday at 7.45am.

Post your comments below and I'll put them on the air.

Above us only sky - or a cynical, money-grabbing owner?

A bad press this week for Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) thanks to this post by fellow travel blogger, Grumpy Traveller.

The main thrust is a bad experience recently, involving the way passengers are encouraged to pay extra to join the Fast Lane queue and speed up their progress through security to the departure gate.

Making for particularly uncomfortable reading for LJLA is the line: "Surely Liverpool Airport’s management knows that they’ve got a massive understaffing and queuing problem. Therefore, the only possible conclusion is that this is an act of greedy bastardry on an epic scale."

The post was just gathering readers across the travel blogs when local newspaper the Daily Post reported that LJLA was planning an ambitious £12m expansion to improve security facilities and almost double retail space.

Peel Holdings, which owns LJLA, plus Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster and Durham Tees Valley Airport in Darlington, said the scheme reflected plans by budget carrier easyJet to move extra flight capacity to Liverpool from Luton and East Midlands airports.

The airport outlines the Fast Lane scheme, which carries a charge of £3 per person (including children), with a FAQ on its website, citing the following:

"Buying a Fast Lane ticket does not guarantee that you won't have to wait in a queue, however, your queuing time will still be shorter when compared to the standard passenger queue and Liverpool John Lennon Airport will always attempt to ensure that your wait time is kept as short as possible."

Grumpy isn't happy and nor are some of the readers who posted their comments on his blog and below the Daily Post story. But what do you think? Is this a total rip off? Or a logical way to jump the queues - assuming, of course, it even works.

I'll be discussing this with Duncan Bakes on City Talk Breakfast this Tuesday from 7.45am and we're hoping to get some response from LJLA about the concerns raised.

Meanwhile, post your comments below and I'll put them on air.

Claiming back our coastline

Fancy a stroll around the coastline of Britain this autumn? That's a mere 2,784 miles if you do. But, if you set out from the Northwest, then you might not get very far.

In a report published by Natural England, an advisory body to the government on the natural environment over the summer, the Northwest faired particularly badly.

Only 44% of the Northwest coastline is accessible - that's 184 miles. But 237 miles of British coastline is not accessible. This reflects industrial use on Merseyside and along the west coast of Cumbria.

No one in England lives more than 70 miles from the sea but, in the Northwest, you're unlikely to walk for more than a few miles before finding the path blocked off.

The coastal access map was drawn up for the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, which is expected to become law when it passes through Parliament in November.

The Natural England audit forms part of an effort to make England's coastline accessible to walkers. Separate projects operate in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The idea of forming a complete ring around the coast dates back to the 18th century but has been revived in recent years by the ramblers seeking the right to roam.

The 53 councils involved in the mapping project have backed the idea of increased access, doubtless tempted by extra tourism revenues.

But landowners in some parts of the country have criticised the bill, while military installations and industry oppose the right to roam.

Even The Queen is involved. The Times reports that HRH is likely to be one the first landowners to open up private land on her North Norfolk Sandringham estate for ramblers.

Dr Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England, said: “The news that the public lack full access to nearly 1000 miles of coastline is a sobering reminder of how much is at stake in the Marine & Coastal Access Bill."

Do we want to reclaim our coastline in the Northwest? I'll be discussing this topic with Duncan Barkes on City Talk Breakfast this Tuesday from 7.45am. Post your comments below and I'll put them on air.

Blackpool, Mon Amour

Michael Notarianni almost whispers it at first. It's nine o'clock in the morning and we're sipping espresso in his seaside cafe. Another fortifying sip and he's ready to say it with pride. "I'm starting to fall in love with Blackpool all over again," he smiles.

Michael is not alone. The archetypal Great British seaside resort has spent years in the wilderness. But a wind of change may finally be blowing in off the Central Promenade these days.

The talk today around Blackpool is of regeneration with a £45m injection of hard currency over the next three years. Redeveloping the seafront is a key element to transform the resort’s tourism industry with improvements to the sea wall, remodeling the seafront and the opening of the Tower Festival Headland, including a 'comedy carpet' with quotes from comedians etched in granite, due for completion in 2010.

Old-school family businesses like Notarianni's, the only original, ice-cream parlour left in town, are keeping fingers crossed that the resort has finally turned the corner.

Michael's grandfather Luigi, opened the original shop on the seafront in 1928. Today the cafe retains the Art Deco counter and still serves the Notarianni Sundae (£3.60) in the colours of the Italian flag.

Next door at Brooks Collectables, manager Mark Yates has opened Brooks Museum of Memorabilia upstairs from the shop with vast collections of toys, Blackpool souvenirs and rare pictures of yesteryear Blackpool.

"Most people don't know about the Art Deco heritage of Blackpool away from all the, err, glitz. The secret, " he adds," is to look up at the tops of the buildings."

But can Blackpool really reinvent itself? A handful of local hoteliers have invested heavily in upscale properties, notably The Beach House and Langtrys. Plus there are a few smarter places to eat and drink around town away from the traditional cheap beer, soggy chips and alcopops-fuelled hen parties.

But for every boutique B&B, there's Freddie Starr at the Central Prom and for every example of Sir Peter Blake's public artwork on the New South Prom art trail, there's a boozed-up stag party downing shots in Yates's Wine Lodge.

BBC Radio 2 will be here next weekend to live broadcast the switch on of the illuminations and the Royal Variety Performance will coax the Royals north of Watford for a second time after their foray to Liverpool.

But will British holidaymakers start to fall in love with Blackpool all over again like Michael? Can Blackpool find a new market away from cheap booze and chips?

I'll discussing this with Duncan Barkes on City Talk Breakfast this Tuesday from 7.45am. Post your comments below and I'll put them on air.

If the Face Fits

Who is the face of North West tourism? And who would make the best brand ambassador to encourage tourism to the region?

I ask the question because the North West Regional Development Agency is seeking to recruit two "high profile faces" as part of a new PR push to raise awareness of the region as a short-break destination this autumn.

Currently, Radio 2 presenter, author and professional Wiganite, Stuart Maconie is handling the task of fronting the campaign.

Maconie lives in Birmingham, although he spends much of his free time in Cumbria.

The micro site, Stuart's Stories has presented travel diary-style pieces that also ran as press advertorials, and a series of podcasts narrated by Maconie to download to your iPod.

It is reported that the campaign has to date produced up to £7.5m worth of coverage, reaching an estimated audience of 15m people.

And, to be fair, he does make an engaging case. I've downloaded a couple of the podcasts myself and have at home a copy of Short Stories for Short Breaks, the accompanying booklet.

But the quest is now on for "high profile brand advocates to create interest and credibility."

The new campaign is set to run from September to the end of the year, with an option to extend it through into 2010.

Writing for How Do, the Northwest media website, Russell Craig, Group Head of External Communications, Manchester Airports Group, suggests:

"... some more renowned North West luminaries such as Albert Finney, Ted Robbins, Victoria Wood or my personal vote - Glossop's favourite son and national porn baron, Paul Raymond."

Who do you think? Ken Barlow from Corrie? The drummer from ill-fated Chester indie band Mansun? Post-Big Brother Terry Christian.

Or should we just give Mark E Smith from The Fall the gig and stand by for an autumn of shambolic ramblings, fisticuffs with journalists and a bust up resulting in Smith sacking the whole band.

I'm making light of light, but there is a serious point here. Cynical as I am about any personality-driven pieces in the newspaper travel sections (not Chris Tarrant goes wild salmon fishing in Canada again, please!), I can see the value of a 'face' in this instance.

By giving the editorial a personal, first-person slant from somebody who commands respect due to profile, expertise, or the ability to express themselves in an informative and entertaining, or ideally all three, it does lend gravitas to the campaign.

After all, readers always relate better to editorial that feels like a mate telling them a story down the pub, rather than a big-money corporate behemoth ramming the message down their throat. At least I do.

So, suggestions then.

Post them below and I'll put them on air on City Talk Breakfast with Duncan Barkes this Tuesday at 7.45am.

Getting paid for his summer holiday

Early starts on Tuesdays from now onwards. From this week Hit the North joins Duncan Barkes on the new breakfast show on City Talk to discuss all things travel at 7.45am.

We will be particularly looking at travel and tourism news, trends and controversies around the great Northwest and Wales. And we want to hear from you. Post your comments below, or follow us on Twitter. Tell us about the burning travel issues where you are and we'll put them on air.

To kick things off, I'll be asking if it's time to hang up my black moleskin notepad (last used on the summit of Snowdon, above left) and give up on travel writing once and for all. The reason? The man who brought us mistletoe and wine is steaming in on my patch.

Yes, that's right. Sir Cliff is one of the writers featured on Simon Seeks, the new travel website dominating the headlines today. The new venture from Simon Nixon, who founded his multi-million-pound Moneysupermarket business in Chester before moving it to North Wales, works on a revenue-sharing model of user-generated content.

I've so far politely declined the lure of Simon Seeks and have major reservations about whether it would pay. Others clearly share these reservations. Some freelance colleagues are dipping a toe in the water but worried about the long-term repercussions on the craft of the professional travel writer.

Sir Cliff's travel-scribing debut, a piece about his love of Barbados, is more notable for its cringe-inducing use of exclamation marks than its jaw-dropping literary merit but, hey, he'll get the hang of this travel writing lark. Give the young lad a chance.

As will, no doubt, that bloke who used to play guitar in Toploader. He did Dubai in a weekend apparently. Huzzah.

So join us at 7.45am this Tuesday. I'll at least get one in before Sir Cliff muscles in on this too.

Travel Talk this Friday

This week on the Duncan Barkes programme on City Talk, we will be talking about the latest travel advice on the swine flu outbreak and what  it means for the already beleaguered tourism industry in Mexico. We will because the website of the tourist board appears to have nothing to say.

   We're also thinking about which is the world's best city to live in. At least, the best according to the Quality of Living ranking by the consultancy group Mercer. Need a clue? It's not Mexico City.

   On air from 10.15am Friday morning. Leave your comments below and I'll put them on the air.

Best of Britain - best of banal more like

I come to praise British tourism, not bury it. No, really, I do. It's an honourable vocation and one I'm happy to support. That's why I paid my own way down to Excel in London's Docklands a few days ago to attend Best of Britain & Ireland, a trade show devoted to domestic tourism that has replaced the British Travel Trade Fair. 

Thursday was press day and I was keen to find some strong new ideas and angles on stories as I had in previous years. Stories that I would go on to sell to my editors and, in turn, help to promote the superb array of Great British tourism activities on offer in this country.

On Thursday afternoon at the near-deserted press room I collected the press pack, including a news release that quotes Sandie Dawe, Deputy Chief Executive of Visit Britain thus: "Best of Britain & Ireland ... could be a real tipping point for British tourism."

A real tipping point? Walking round the exhibition, the sound of tumbleweed blowing by my feet, it felt like British tourism had already tipped off and given up.

The problems for a freelance writer like me? Attendance was very low; hardly any press officers from regional tourist boards on their respective stands (those who did turn up all seemed to leave early); nobody had any fresh ideas; no creative vision; and no attempt to capitalise on the golden opportunity that this year presents given the currency situation in the Eurozone.

Visit Britain themselves are keen to talk up the idea that 5m extra Brits are considering taking a holiday at home this year. But, after this woeful experience, I'm more inclined to bin a UK break in favour of a cheap package deal in Turkey, Egypt or Croatia - three places where our pounds still has some purchasing power. That would also trump Britain on the weather and cost issue too.

I would have come away totally empty handed were it not for Visit Wales, whose professional press officer met at the stand, discussed story ideas and helped with contacts to arrange forthcoming projects. I came away with two concrete story ideas to progress and several more to ponder. Isn't that the whole point of a press day?

But where the hell was everyone else? Experience Nottinghamshire didn't show up at all, opting instead to exhibit at the Outdoors Show at Birmingham's NEC. Did they know something I didn't? Is it simply all over for this event as a launching pad for the UK media to report on domestic tourism?

The Maison de la France do this kind of thing rather well with their France Meets the Media events. So why can't Visit Britain with all the resources at its disposal? 

If I attend next year - and that's a big if right now - then here's what I expect from it:

* Well-briefed press officers on stands to deal with journalist enquiries and promote their region

* A brief ideas document on each regional stand outlining new events, projects, hooks, angles to help writers formulate must-commission proposals

* Some kind of evening networking event with media and regional tourism PRs, plus people from Visit Britain, Wales, Ireland, Scotland to set the proactive and collaborative tone for the daytime talking shop.

I'm not getting ideas above my station here. I know that I'm just one of hundreds of active freelancers but, if I feel bitterly disappointed about my experience, how many other writers feel the same? 

If anyone would actually like to respond, then please leave your comments below or email me direct (find contacts at my website www.atkinsondavid.co.uk).

We'll be discussing what went wrong as part of my regular travel slot on the Duncan Barkes programme on City Talk this week. On air Friday morning from 10.15am.

Over to you.

Travel Talk this Friday

I love train travel. It's greener, less stressful than airports and, when you're powering through northern France with a glass of red by your side and your latest assignment near complete on your laptop, it feels supremely civilised. Snowstorms and pestilence notwithstanding, of course. That's why I'm delighted to read that the European rail network will expand the over next year with a slew of new services coming online to speed up connections between the major European hubs and increase the reach of rail.

I'll be discussing this on the Duncan Barkes programme on City Talk this week. Leave your comments here about favourite train journeys, favourite train stations (my vote is for the futuristic Kyoto Station in Japan) and why you prefer to let the train take the strain.

You can also watch my video blog riding the Glacier Express in Switzerland here.

We will also be discussing news that holiday camp Pontin's is planning to take on an extra 2,000 staff over three years and spruce up venues as cash-strapped Brits look to holidays at home.

Would you spend your summer hols at a revamped Pontins in Southport? After an assignment at Butlins that involved a performance from Eighties throwback Bucks Fizz, tales of substance abuse from chalet staff and an angry letter from the management many years ago, I've never returned. But maybe I've missed out? You tell me ...

On air Friday from 10.15am.