Lorraine Harrison

April 2007

Mon 2nd Apr

What glorious weather it is as I sit here writing this newsletter report. We are heading towards the Easter weekend and I am hopeful that it will remain as beautiful and sunny as it is today over the Easter holiday period.

So much is happening and I am extremely pleased to report that we have four new full and two co-opted members of the Executive, all young and ebullient and ready to take on some duties for and on behalf of the membership of the Newquay Chamber of Commerce & Tourism.

I do, however, have to inform you that, although we are still maintaining our tenancy of our office in Marcus Hill, we no longer have an administrator and the administration work, therefore, falls to myself and those of the Executive that can spare the time.

To those of you that have left, or attempted to leave, messages on the answerphone, I have to apologise. For the time being, I would be grateful if you could, where possible, communicate with the Executive electronically via the Website (www.ncct.uk.com) or via e-mail.

During a recent trade show, I met with a gentleman who has come up with an initiative by which he can reduce energy bills by purchasing at a corporate rate and then offering it back to small/medium sized businesses at a far better rate than they could otherwise get.

This is something that I feel would (and has already) benefit many members of this trade association and I am hopeful that he will be in a position to post an entry onto the NCCT website, www.ncct.uk.com, in early course. In the meantime, should you wish to contact him, his details are as follows :

Jon Amery – Fresh-Tel Ltd
Business Centre
Kings Hill
Bude
Cornwall EX23 8QN

Telephone : 01288 356508 – Fax : 01288 275001
e-mail : jon@fresh-tel.com
Website : www.fresh-tel.com

I am hopeful, in the fullness of time, to be able to arrange a trade show for just this kind of initiative to be showcased, together with one or two other companies relevant to all commerce in Newquay. So, if your company has a corporate heartbeat, this kind of initiative will benefit you.

As sad as I am to say “I told you so”, we have already reaped the negative benefit brought about by the loss of our dedicated Tourism Department.

I was approached recently by a gentleman called Tim Carter, who is the Project Manager for “Rescue 2010 GB”: Bid, being the world championships for the Iron Man competition which he is hoping, provided the bid is in on time and is suitable, will be held in Newquay in 2010. He came to me for information regarding accommodation availability, costs of accommodation and other various relevancies. I contacted VisitCornwall and they duly sent through some information that was, unfortunately, woefully inadequate.

With the demise of the Newquay Tourism Department, this kind of information is no longer available, other than as a jumble within statistics regarding Cornwall as a whole. It has therefore come down to trawling the internet for information that would previously have been available.

I sincerely hope that Rescue 2010’s bid is successful and that Newquay will be the venue, bearing in mind that it is a bigger event than any Surf Competition currently held here. Rescue 2010 would be the catalyst for a huge influx, both of tourism and generation of revenue for the local area, as well as Cornwall as a whole.

Good luck Rescue 2010 and good luck Newquay. Something wonderful to look forward to for the future.

Lorraine Harrison
Chairman
Newquay Chamber of Commerce & Tourism