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.

Blackpool mon amour

Blackpool gets a pretty bad rap and is clearly keen to reinvent itself. As is the North West Development Agency (NWDA), who recently funded a promotional short film, J'aime la Tour.

   The film takes a deliberately alternative look at the classic British kiss-me-quick resort, highlighting its attractions to French visitors given current currency fluctuations in the Eurozone. 

   Clearly the idea was a success on its launch day with acres of press coverage and the head of tourism interviewed across TV channels. Last time I checked, the film had been watched over 54,000 times on YouTube.

   But not all the coverage was positive, notably a scathing blog from the Mail on Sunday, which suggested that Blackpool should be concentrating on its core market, namely Brits on seaside family hols, not French visitors looking for Vegas sur la mer.

   Having spoken subsequently to people involved, I get the feeling that this was purely a talking-point exercise and there's nothing to substantiate the French angle. 

   Likewise I spoke to several travel editors about this. Their feeling? This was a news story, it's over and there's nothing in it for the travel sections.

   So, here's my question: while the short-term benefit to Blackpool in terms of profile is undeniable, what is the longer-term impact at a time when many Brits are thinking about taking holidays closer to home.

   Does J'aime la Tour sell Blackpool as a place to rediscover or alienate a key audience? Post your comments here and join the conversation.