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No one should be surprised to read that our local foreign language schools are suffering so badly in the post-Brexit post-Covid economy (Echo, May 2).
What I found surprising was the reported size of the local language school industry. At £300million, presumably in revenue, this has not been entirely eclipsed by the reported size of local tourism.
The council’s recent ‘BCP Futures’ document valued tourism at £600m of GVA (gross value added), or turnover of £1,000m.
Language schools might well complain that they deserved better support.
Locally, the tourism board’s support is so massive, an effort that a Hi-de-Hi holiday camp would be proud of.
Yet such a large tourism industry for part of the year should be of great concern to the council.
The situation is less on the scale of the BCP being roughly centered on Bournemouth.
Indeed, the large local tourist industry is probably the reason why Bournemouth’s economy fares so poorly compared to Poole‘s.
The latest official figures, although a bit dated, show Poole to be 25% wealthier per capita than Bournemouth.
To be so dependent on local tourism is more than just an ‘eggs in one basket’ situation.
Part-time industries are not efficient industries and therefore promote poverty.
The BCP Council should really stop mindlessly promoting industries that only operate for a few months a year.
Dr Martin Rodger Bloxworth Road, Poole
