MORIARTY FOR MAYOR - CAN KIRSTEN DELIVER THE GOODS WITH TOURISM IN SOMERSET?

Undoubtedly councillor Kirsten Moriarty has her heart in the right place with the vision she is putting forward as the would be mayor-elect next March to boost tourism in Somerset.

 

 

The big question is - beyond her well meaning and well founded idealism, in acknowledgement of the desperate need for new enterprise in the region, what infrastructure plan can she offer up to make a case for being seen as thinking big and having done her homework as to what is practical and achievable to create a real fair dinkum tourism trade in Somerset.

 

 

With due respect to the just refurbished Toogoolawah Condensary and the Old Church Gallery at Moore, which certainly has put local art on the map at least and created small, niche tourist attractions, and which might I say are wonderful facilities, the truth is that they're not the sort of attractions which are going to have tourists flooding into Somerset and pumping lots of money into the local economy.

 

 

Councillor Moriarty has to detail a proper infrastructure plan to back up her "pro-tourism plan", as in what her vision is as mayor to have new tourism attractions built in Somerset which will attract a wide demographic of people of all different age groups from well outside the region.

 

 

At the moment there is a dearth of touristy places to visit in Somerset, let's be honest, and there is a distinctly limited amount of motels / hotels to accommodate a surge in tourism. The idealism on her part is good but right now there are some very tangible infrastructural impediments standing in her way to fulfill what she strives to do.