BOURNEMOUTH’S National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) should have its funding extended so it can become a truly national resource for seaside resorts, a report has said.

The academy was set up in 2013 to stimulate growth in coastal tourism but its funding only runs until this December.

A report by the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee says the funding should be extended.

It said: “We welcome the start made by the National Coastal Tourism Academy in identifying and promulgating best practice.

“However, an extension of its funding is needed if it is to become a truly national resource for the benefit of seaside resorts throughout England and the rest of the UK.”

The academy told the committee that tourism in England was worth £4.3bn in overnight domestic trips and £3.8bn in day trips.

It values tourism at £501m a year to Bournemouth.

The academy said most seaside visits were from domestic visitors, but in Bournemouth the international education market was valued at £212m.

It identified two key barriers to growth:

* the high concentration of independently owned micro and small enterprises (MSEs), which it said meant a low presence of corporate names and had “serious implications on the delivery of change in these destinations”;

* a reduction in public funding for tourism at sub-national level.

The committee’s members, before last week’s dissolution of parliament, included Bournemouth West’s Conor Burns.

NCTA director Samantha Richardson, who gave evidence to the committee, said: “We recognise we’re at the very outset and have barely scratched the surface on the research that needs to be done, so it’s enormously encouraging to be recommended in this influential report on tourism.

“We’ve quickly identified a number of common factors that must be addressed if coastal tourism is to reclaim its position as a thriving part of domestic tourism. Some resorts are flourishing while others are languishing. We’ve focussed on areas of best practice, giving us examples that can be shared for everyone’s benefit.”

The committee also voiced sympathy for those lobbying for a cut in VAT on the tourism industry.

“We recommend that the government thoroughly assesses the merits of the claims of the Cut Tourism VAT Campaign by performing its own modelling work and publishes the results of this,” it reported.