Maximising attractions

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The South certainly has plenty of attractions for tourists, but are we making the most of them?

This is an important question in the post credit crunch world, where plenty of people will be competing to snare stay-at-home holidaymakers.

The question, as ever, is whether we are spending enough money on advertising and promotion.

And are we getting the right sort of visitors?

Stonehenge is visited by thousands of people every year, but many of them are bussed out from London on a whistlestop "Stonehenge Experience" that probably contributes very little to the local economy.

What we need is to get them to stay, and spend money in our shops and restaurants and hotels rather than somewhere else's.

Even when you get them to stay in our region, there remains the question of what is the best thing to offer them.

The traditional bucket-and-spade holiday was a mainstay for many southern beach resorts for donkey's years.

But even in a credit-crunched economy, it is hard to compete with the sunnier charms of foreign parts.

And anyway, bucket-and-spade holidays work rather less well in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire.

So maybe we should be looking for rather different attractions.

Are you a Set Jetter?

Yes, I have got that the right way round. Set Jetters are people who jet off to places where films have been set.

And there are plenty of places like that in the South.

Take Oxford, for example - it has been featured in the Harry Potter movies, the Inspector Morse TV programmes, and even in Heaven's Gate (standing in for Harvard, bizarrely) for the turkey-lovers amongst you.

Winchester has hosted scenes from The Da Vinci Code, as well as Elizabeth and Elizabeth the Golden Age.

In Weymouth, the Mitchell family have been enjoying a holiday from East Enders (but you will only get to see that in July), and even as I write the story of Radio Caroline is being shot in the town.

Radio Caroline of course was moored off Essex and this is Dorset, but I guess that is the magic of the movies.

Unfortunately, the magic of the movies seems not to have spread its pixie dust too thickly over our region.

As Danielle Glavin discovers in Sunday's programme, Set Jetting has plenty of opportunities in the south, but not many takers.

Slogan for the South

Of course, part of the trick to hooking the punters in is having an attractive slogan.

Who could fail to be moved to visit "So Charming, South Oxfordshire"? Or "Better Mid-Sussex"? Or "Poole - Surf Rest and Play"?

I suppose it is easy to scoff. But we want to challenge you to come up with a slogan that captures the spirit of where you live. Send us an email, or text us during the show with your suggestions.

Join Peter Henley for the Politics Show - Sundays on BBC One from 1200 BST.

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