THE TOURISM sector is anticipating a total collapse in public funding. Managing director of Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival NICK MOSLEY gives his assessment of the state of business in 2015.

WE SHOULD be very pleased that businesses continue to invest time, effort and money in the city – despite the issues faced in recent years While we must never be complacent, our position as one of the UK’s leading tourist hotspots appears pretty safe due to the varied offering of the city and surrounding area and our proximity to London.

A lot of good work is being done by the local wine industry around a Protected Designation of Origin status for Sussex and the wider South Downs.

In 2016 we will be bringing the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium to the city, which is an immense recognition of the global importance of Sussex as an emerging production region.

The National Park has been busy creating a South Downs brand that will extend to food and drink grown and produced in the park.

And with my colleagues at the food festival, we are planning a multi-million pound South Downs Wine and Spirit Centre.

But with the exception of the mainly publicly financed i360, major developments that boost tourism are thin on the ground, and political instability is no doubt a factor.

Developers want a secure investment which will not be undermined by a change in administration.

We are expecting the imminent collapse of public sector support for city tourism which is already virtually non-existent across Sussex.

With the landscape on the move, we are distinctly behind the curve in our preparation for the future compared to other city-break destinations.

Food tourists face the same issues as general tourists – transport infrastructure, way-finding, destination marketing, visitor information, street cleanliness, planting and beautification, public toilets, night-time economy management and the like. I hope in early 2015 the Tourism Advisory Board group will find consensus on how tourism should be organised, though I have doubts over funding.

It is dubious whether enough revenue can be generated from a seafront tourism BID (business improvement district).

What I most want from a new council administration is an end to the bickering, unpopular transport policies and the ongoing rubbish problems.

Regardless of these issues, no other city in the UK boasts an independent restaurant scene with such variety and creativity.

As long as we push this message, keep quality high and make the city accessible, our position is safe.

What we do need is improved catering and hospitality education and training, so young people have the skills and passion to work in the industry.

Brighton should be a hub for the county and we should encourage people out for the day to experience the food and drink in Sussex, and vice versa.