Alistair Arkley column

Aug 2 2006 By Alistair Arkley, The Journal

I could not help but smile when I read recently that, according to that modern-day bible for tourists, the Rough Guide, the best visitor experience in Britain is a night out in Newcastle.

The news came out almost a year to the day after Northumbria's new chief constable Mike Craik had announced, with great fanfare, the launch of a campaign against drunkenness and disorder in Newcastle, entitled The Party's Over.

Ironically the Rough Guide's findings were published just as we were seeing how Germany's major cities were responding to thousands of England football supporters during the World Cup.

What we saw was a very different attitude to how you treat people who want to enjoy themselves.

As I walked through Cologne before England's match, I was struck by the positive reaction of local people and the police to the tens of thousands of party-minded foreign supporters, many of whom had certainly had a drink or two. I suspect things might have been different in Britain.

Perhaps it is a question of differing views between balancing individual rights and the public good, with authorities here often taking a heavy-handed view and responding in a way which means one person's complaint can undermine the enjoyment of thousands.

At the time he launched The Party's Over, Mr Craik said he wanted to promote "a cultural renaissance to match the structural regeneration" of Newcastle and that there was a need to encourage "sitting down drinking, not vertical drinking which turns into horizontal drinking".

I doubt that when the Rough Guide selected a night out in Newcastle as Britain's top visitor attraction they were thinking of a quiet visit to the Baltic or the Sage.

Time after time, we are told by agencies such as One NorthEast that tourism is one of our key growth sectors and that we must do everything possible to attract visitors to our wonderful heritage, countryside and coast.

Of course, that's true, but as the Rough Guide has emphasised, it's not just the culture which brings people here. In the Guide's top 35 Hadrian's Wall was in 25th place.

However unpalatable it may be for decision makers who may themselves prefer a visit to the Sage to a night out on the Quayside, if we're serious about welcoming visitors, we have to recognise that we cannot turn our backs on the party people.

Alistair Arkley is chairman of Northern Business Forum and chairman of New Century Inns.