Leading tourism figure leaves role after steering the ship through pandemic
A key figure in Norfolk tourism is stepping down after guiding the Great Yarmouth borough through the pandemic and back to the booming visitor figures of pre-Covid days.
Lyndon Bevan has been Chairman of Visit Great Yarmouth since 2019, steering the ship through lockdown, crisis management, long-term recovery planning, and back out the other side where tourism and economy figures are expected to reach record highs again.
During his tenure Lyndon has been instrumental in a number of changes to Visit Great Yarmouth including increasing the overall budget allocated for events, investment in CCTV, seafront decorative lighting and web cameras.
He also developed the destination website, social media, tourism enquiries and took on the organisation of the popular Wheels Festival.
He said: “I was made chairman in summer 2019. We had just got a new term on the ballot, there was lots of positivity and plans being made for the destination in a wider sense, in marketing and projects developing.
“But coming round to March, we walked into a pandemic where initially we carried out crisis management and then long-term recovery planning, lobbying our local MPs, trade bodies and getting information from businesses. We spent a lot of time from April 2020 onwards trying to navigate the delivery of clear messages to businesses and interpreting information from the government.
“We had a very challenging 2020, a challenging 2021 and then in 2022 things started to turn.
“We will have the full national data this summer for 2024 and it should show we will go beyond the figures we were getting in terms of tourism numbers and value to the economy that we enjoyed pre-pandemic. That recovery has taken five years.
“It’s been an absolute rollercoaster, but we did ok in extremely difficult times. We were given the unexpected, but we got through it and I’m proud of our businesses and individuals and how they responded to the most challenging times in recent history.”
Lyndon, who runs The Lacon Arms public house in Hemsby, said he felt now was the time to pass on the baton.
“I’ve decided to step aside for some fresh eyes as I feel I’ve got to where I wanted to be – to see our destination enjoying huge success again. I have just been voted vice-chair. so I will still be on the board supporting our tourism offer.”
Asa Morrison, Chief Executive of Visit Great Yarmouth, said Lyndon had seen tourism in the area evolve and develop significantly from a period of seismic collapse following the pandemic.
“Lyndon has seen everything crash and he has been instrumental in building everything up again, I’m sure it’s not the journey he wanted to see, but he steadied the ship during that time.
“It was a very difficult period and luckily the majority of businesses are still with us.
“Lyndon is a fantastic advocate borough wide. He’s very friendly, approachable and has always taken a very warm and positive overview of tourism. He’s a real ambassador for what we do.”
The new Chair of Visit Great Yarmouth will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
