OUR story yesterday about a one million drop in the number of day trippers to Brighton in a year brought a predictable response from some quarters.

Many of the vested interests chose to “shoot the messenger” blaming this newspaper for writing negative stories that talked the city down.

Others suddenly spoke as if day trippers weren’t that important, pointing out that the numbers of people staying overnight had risen and these were the real spenders.

Both these points are arrant nonsense. On the first, this paper has a duty to report news whether positive or negative and regardless of whom it upsets.

As for the second point you only have to use your eyes to understand that most day trippers don’t just sit on the beach. They lunch, they shop, they see shows, and they visit tourist attractions as well. Of course those who stay overnight spend more, and do appear to have increased that spend to help make up some of the day trip loss, but the vagaries of the conference season can effect this either way.

So to have nothing positive to say about how we might address a million less day trippers with a net loss of £14 million income was laissez-faire at its worst.

Frankly the reaction from many to our story yesterday smacked of complacency with the weather among other things being blamed rather than any positive solutions to address the issue being put forward. It was left to the director of Brighton and Hove Food and Drink festival, Nick Mosley, to say what even the dogs in the streets know.

That is that we have to step up our game both in the marketing of this great city to visitors and in what they find when they get here.