BE ASSURED it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that within the next three months I will be travelling to both Alicante and Dublin after securing excellent cheap flights on Ryanair.

But the thought of all that investment, up to 1,000 jobs and five new routes out of Bournemouth International must be positive news, if not for some residents, then at least for travellers and the town's business and tourism communities.

It is hard to believe that it is just 11 years since the airline kick-started Hurn's rush for cheap European flights, making the often tortuous trip to Gatwick a thing of the past for many local travellers.

For many years, the most you could expect out of Bournemouth was the late, great Peter Bath waving you off at the gate on your Palmair flight to the sun, trips that epitomised what was great about a family-run business that cared passionately about its customers and treated everyone individually.

Times have changed and while some carriers came and went, Ryanair and Thomsonfly have proved essential partners in the development of Bournemouth as an international destination.

Of course, you can't expect the earth - or Palmair's consummate customer service - on 99p one-way journeys and maybe I've been lucky in encountering no problems on my dozen or so trips out of Bournemouth. It's still a fantastic bonus to live 10 minutes away from your plane.

But with growth comes the need for expansion and it's clear that these plans won't come in quietly, as we have already reported towards the end of last year.

But unlike many the airports used by the budget airlines, our town centre is close by and a much stronger link between the two - in both transport and tourism perspectives - is absolutely essential.