Riverdance is a message from the Gods for Blackpool tourist chiefs

BLACKPOOL tourist chiefs can learn a valuable lesson from the impact on the local economy from the stricken Riverdance ferry incident.

That’s the opinion of one of the resort’s leading business advisers to the hotel and tourist sector.

Andrew Norman, a partner at Moore and Smalley Chartered Accountants, based on Skyways Business Park, believes the increase in visitors to Cleveleys to see the stranded ferry proves that if the resort puts on a unique attraction, people will come.
The ferry had been heading from Warrenpoint, County Down, to Heysham, when it was hit by a freak wave in January,
It has now become a tourist attraction with an estimated 100,000 onlookers having visited it, boosting local trade.
The dismantling process is due to start and expected to take 14 weeks.
Andrew Norman said: “Who would have thought that it would have generated such business to the local economy. The local cafes and restaurants have been bustling with day trippers, bringing a much needed boost to the town’s winter economy.
“There is a strong message from the Gods based on simple economics and marketing. If a resort puts on an exclusive, creative and cost effective tourist attraction, people will visit, in any weather, and spend money. Imagine if five ferries had run aground? It would have been frenetic.
“Tourist chiefs in Fylde need to learn from this. Resorts on the Fylde coast need to be home to attractions which can’t be found anywhere else in the UK. It’s down to creativity and originality; it’s what the people want and it’s what Fylde needs. The town of Cleveleys will be sorry to see Riverdance go!”

Moore and Smalley has a specialist tourism unit which advises hotels and tourist businesses across the region. In April 2008, Moore and Smalley merged with Lonsdale & Partners which has offices in Kendal, Kirkby Lonsdale and Lancaster.

The deal takes Moore and Smalley into the top 50 bracket of the UK’s largest accountancy firms.