BLACKPOOL Tories want to hand tourism promotion to the holiday industry with a new tourist board solely for the resort.

Conservative group leader Coun Peter Callow said: "We believe Blackpool isn't being promoted properly and that a local tourist board would hand back responsibility to the business community, so that they can have a voice."

If the Tories won back power on Blackpool Council, they would introduce the local board - "to take the politics out of tourism as much as we can," he said.

Funding would come partly from the council and partly from business, he explained - and councillors would sit on the board along with trade representatives.

"At present only the Blackpool Hotel and Guest House Association seems to have a voice on tourism promotion," said Coun Callow, "but there are others that want to be heard, including the Private Hotels, Self-catering and Combined Associations and RONSA" (Revitalisation of North Shore Area). The idea was supported by Tory leader William Hague and shadow culture secretary John Ainsworth, said Coun Callow. Stressing he was not criticising current tourism officers, he said he would be consulting the town's various tourism bodies over the next few months.

Meanwhile, one hotelier, Ken Turner, has organised a public forum on the future of Blackpool's tourist trade on November 10 at 2pm at the Norbreck Castle Hotel.

Tory member Mr Turner advocates a Fylde Coast Tourist Authority - funded privately with the help of government or EC aid - "to take the industry into the next century."

"Blackpool could be the guiding light for the UK's tourism industry," he said. "We have the opportunity to display Blackpool as the prime resort in the world, and if we don't do something now I think in five years time the results will be extremely damaging."

Blackpool executive member for tourism Coun George Bancroft said: "We're quite happy to listen to any positive and helpful ideas that are put forward, and if they're affordable we'll talk about them.

"Whether or not the various organisations, which compete against one another, would be happy to join together in a new body I don't know. But we don't think of tourism in terms of politics, apart from the amount of funding that's available."

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