Merseyside ‘fails to cash in’ on Open golf legacy

Sep 30 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

MERSEYSIDE is not doing enough to capitalise on the legacy of Wirral’s Open Championship last year, a leading figure in the region’s hotel industry claimed last night.

The sun-kissed championship at Hoylake was the perfect advertisement for the “England’s Golf Coast” brand, which it is hoped will bring thousands of tourists to the area.

But, with the tournament returning to Birkdale next year, some doubt whether enough has been done in the interim to maximise the tourism return.

Andrew Thompson, whose family-owned Thornton Hall Hotel, in south Wirral, put up senior members of the R&A during the Hoylake Open, said he was concerned the Open at Royal Birkdale would “pass us by”.

The criticisms come as Wirral council this week revealed a highly critical report into its own tourism department.

The head of tourism at Sefton last night insisted both Wirral and his own council were working hard to ensure Birkdale 2008 was capitalised on.

But Mr Thompson is convinced more needs to be done.

He said: “Tiger Woods’s win at Hoylake put Wirral right back where it belongs on the world golfing map.

“It was a massive success and etched in all our memories. However, we cannot afford to bask in the afterglow.

“The countdown is now well and truly on for Birkdale. And at the moment I have my concerns about whether the event is going to pass us by.

“Both the public and private sector must ensure we fully capitalise on the commercial opportunities of the Open coming back to Merseyside so soon. We must use this fabulous opportunity to drive forward Wirral’s rekindled status as a world class golfing destination.”

Mr Thompson said Wirral had to market properly to golfing fans visiting Birkdale for the Open from across Britain and the world.

He added: “The competition for these visitors is fierce, particularly from the highly organised Scottish golf industry.

“We must get people here to Wirral, spending in our shops, restaurants, pubs, hotels and service industry. We all stand to gain. The promoting of the North West, as England's Golf Coast, is strong, but Wirral must have a clear identity within that brand.”

Geoff Dale, general manager of Thornton Hall, and chairman of Wirral’s Hoteliers Association, added: “It’s easy to have done all that hard work in the run-up to 2006 and then without doing much more work just expect that because of that people will remember.

“The people in the tourism department do a fantastic job but I can’t help thinking the council itself under-funds them.”

The critical report to Wirral’s culture, tourism and leisure scrutiny committee shows that, out of eight performance indicators for the Tourism Department, four fall into the most serious red category, meaning they miss their targets by more than 10%.

Among the most serious areas which appear to show shortfalls are the spend of visitors, which a council spokeswoman acknowledged was down on the £1m which should have been generated in that period.

Other targets missed include just 6,500 people at “supported” events, compared with a target of 20,000 for the first quarter, and just over 900 hits at the www.visitwirral.com website compared with a target of more than 1,300. The department says most events are held during summer months and figures later this year will show Wirral has been successfully attracting visitors.

Tony Corfield, head of tourism at Sefton Council which is preparing for the 2008 Open at Birkdale, rushed to the defence of Wirral, and said there were “two sides to every story”.

He said: “The whole thing about England’s Golf Coast, which is driven by courses such as those we have in Sefton and Wirral, is you do not flick it on and off like a switch.

“You have to work hard at promoting it, encouraging inward investment, investment in hotels and so on, and you get out there and make it happen.

“I have seen the effort that is going into this, and the contribution Wirral has made and the work they are putting into supporting the 2008 Open here.”

Cllr Bob Moon, Wirral’s cabinet member for Culture, Tourism and Leisure, said: “Wirral Council’s tourism team attended this year’s Open at Carnoustie, where interest in Wirral was hugely encouraging for The Open at Royal Birkdale in 2008.

“We are working closely with our colleagues at Sefton to maximise those benefits and make sure that we build on the success of The Open at Hoylake in 2006.”

Royal Liverpool Golf Club spokesman Graham Brown said the club had received “huge support” from Wirral Council in the run-up to The Open 2006, and added: “We have continued to work closely with the council to build on the many positive tourism links created during The championship.

“In our opinion, the council is performing an excellent job of promoting golf in Wirral.”

OPINION: PAGE 6

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