Nick Bye: Can we rebuild our tourism industry to former glory?

The great joy of returning home to Torbay, the English Riviera, from a few days away visiting other seaside places is the realisation this really isn't a bad place to call home.

When travelling home by train the journey by the sea wall at Dawlish with a glimpse of Berry Head in the distance and the great sweep of Lyme Bay is enough to make the spirits soar.

The arrival in Torquay is always a delight. The location of the railway station is perhaps a little less than convenient for the majority of residents (including Yours Truly) but more than made up for by the proximity to the sea front and picture postcard views across to the harbour as you make your way to the bus stop.

I must also say a special thank you to the "Friends" who kindly maintain the garden to the side of the departure platform. 

After previous jaunts to Bexhill on Sea, Morecambe, Weston-Super-Mare & Newquay (in February so perhaps not at its best) this summer I have enjoyed a few days in Eastbourne including a day trip to Brighton. 

These places are of course much closer to London and other large population centres so have a much greater "catchment" almost on their doorstep. Brighton is very much London by the sea with great numbers of commuters as well as day trippers. It also has very nearly London house prices making it very different in character to other bucket and spade resorts.

But both Brighton and Eastbourne also endure some of the same problems you will find all along our coasts as well as here in the Bay. There is a slightly rundown feel to some of the buildings, plenty of twentieth century "however did they allow that" architecture, people who appear to be down on their luck, as well as plenty more who are enjoying being beside the seaside.

Our local debates on homelessness, empty shops and abandoned sites are often framed as though these problems are unique to Torbay. But you will find folk living in tents, closed down banks, empty Debenhams stores, boarded up theatres and cinemas in most of our once thriving resorts. Rows of guest houses and small hotels which would be full from Easter to October are now flatlets and houses in multiple occupation.

Brixham and parts of Paignton have actually benefited from being former holiday camp resorts. Once the visitors stopped coming or tastes changed then it was fairly straightforward to clear many of these sites and create modern housing estates. 

I write these few words at the end of what has been reported as a successful season. The good weather here (mostly) and extreme high temperatures in some of the Mediterranean resorts is making many people reconsider their holiday plans. Trying to keep cool in any sense of the word when the thermometer hits 40 degrees isn't easy. Extreme temperatures can't be good for young children or anyone who is frail, never mind the hassle of overcrowded airports and travel delays.

Could there be a sustained revival in domestic tourism and seaside holidays in particular?

If so we have to provide what visitors want rather than dust off all the old things we would like to see or believe might be good for them.

In particular we need to provide modern accommodation and I very much welcome the investment in new hotels. I am especially pleased to see the new Indigo Hotel nearing completion on the old Corbyn Head site. It's exactly what will attract new visitors to the town who in turn will spend money in the restaurants and eating houses, visit attractions and take taxi rides.

I searched in vain for any new hotels in Eastbourne (in fairness I am told they have a Premier Inn) and much of their stock of large hotels looks rather tired to put it mildly. A meal out in a rather upmarket but hideously over the top place in Brighton (shades of a tart's boudoir) was hugely entertaining for all the wrong reasons. Oh for any of our places on Torwood Street or by  Brixham harbour!

We certainly have the ingredients here to make a top resort. Our three towns around our beautiful Bay and incomparable natural environment are simply stunning and knock spots off all the other traditional South Coast resorts. Indeed sea views at so many of these are rather dull in comparison with ours: all you see ... is the sea.

We have our various heritage assets and attractions which were the subject of a previous article and just need bringing together.

We can also boast of our Blue Flag beaches, maritime events, boat trips, steam train rides, theatres , festivals and celebrations.

For the last few years we have certainly benefited from much more professional marketing. Years ago we had so many different groups and organisations competing for their particular interest rather than what was best for the wider tourism economy or what would attract the most visitors to the Bay.

There has been significant investment in all three towns especially around the harbours and waterfronts. We now have ten new purpose built hotels, a very smart mini resort at the Cary Arms Babbacombe, the greatly improved Splashdown Water Park at Goodrington as well as an eating out scene which must be the best in the West.

The feedback this year from first time visitors to Torbay has been very positive especially from those who attended the various summer events.

Tourism is the lifeblood of our economy. Torbay established itself in the Victorian era, then benefitted hugely from the mid 20th century tourism boom. Let's hope we can recreate that success and build the top resort for the 21st century.