The need for a good web site

The town is loosing business all the time because we have such a jumble of sites to represent us on the Internet.

This represents a multimillion pound business when you take into account the shops, market stalls, eating and drinking places, transport and hire, and most important accommodation.

No one is taking this task seriously.

When I ran a successful tourist business at The Falls - holiday self catering with a unique food service - I spent one morning every week (ie 10% of my time) working at promoting myself by press releases and contact with travel writers in the National papers and advertising. I spent at least 5% of my total budget on advertising in addition to an impressive brochure and back up literature - previous press articles.

Result I was fully booked from the February bank holiday until the one in October. I then let the accomodation to longer local lets across the winter. Of course I offered top accommodation singled out by the AA for its excellence. Furthermore I offered a unique food service which provided all the food inside the holiday cottages which attracted a lot of interest. My bank, the Midland at the time, brought other bankers to the Falls to see how we did it! Other hoteliers came to find out our secrets.

Now compare this business approach with that being used to 'sell' the town to tourists and there is no comparison.

To test this out you need to imagine that you are a potential tourist going on the internet :

First of all you are looking for a town or location that would be interesting to stay at and then some accommodation that appeals.

Now here you have to actually go on line with a bit of imagination and actually take the trouble to see what it feels like.

You are from a foreign country with some English and a fair bit of cash because of the strength of you currency against the UK pound - you could even be Chinese or Japanese or nearer home, Scandinavian, French or German. You would like a market town with a bit of history in the South Lakes because you've heard that there aren't so many tourists around and the scenery is something special with not only Lakes , Mountains but the Sea as well. You also remember that there are some towns that have some really fun festivals that you would like to include - you can't remember much more.

Now try your search.

Do you get anywhere near finding Ulverston?

Try again if you like assuming that you've been told my someone that they visited Ulverston and enjoyed a festival there.

Now, how do you get on?

Can you think of a single Councillor that talks about this problem and is trying hard to promote Ulverston?

Now compare us with Grange over sands and how do we compare?

Are you surprised that our shops are empty?

How is this when we have so much to offer and the well heeled people loved returning to Ulverston, Year by Year. Some even got a bit of a reputation with local shopkeepers for their eccentric habits -plonking their walking shoes on the counter in order to do the laces up! Ordering Cumberland sausage by the 10 lbs to take back home with them. Buying unusual hardware from Smith and Harrison.

Those were the days - have they gone for ever?