‘Horrors of attack will make parents worry for students’ safety’

SOUTHPORT International has been bringing Spanish, French and Italian students to Southport for 18 years and Karen Mitchell, its director, has been reflecting on the impact of the Manchester attack on Southport.

She says: “Our hardest task now is reassuring our European students and their parents that they will be safe in Southport.

“We celebrated our 18th year of being Southport International this month – we have brought thousands of Spanish, French and Italian teenage students to Southport on language holidays and spend nine months of every year selling our beautiful town, our welcoming host families and the wonders of the North West.

“The horrors of the devastation in Manchester last night will understandably worry many parents now for their own children’s safety.

“Tourism is our town’s main asset and we have built our small business up over the last 18 years and will keep bringing millions of pounds into our town by making payments to host families, renting buildings, employing teachers, using local transport and attractions in addition to all the money the students themselves spend in our town.

“We thought our greatest challenge this year was losing, and having to replace, some families who choose to host golf enthusiasts who pay much more than us, but this tragedy is a far greater issue unless we can provide reassurance.

“Children are precious the world over, and the delight of watching our students’ faces when they see MUFC and Anfield stadia for the first time, shopping at the Trafford Centre and Liverpool One, and playing mini-golf on Southport Promenade or dressing up for our weekly discos at the magnificent Royal Clifton Hotel is a wonderful experience.

“It would be a terrible loss in so many ways to lose the students that have become a central part of summer in Southport, but hopefully we can provide the reassurance that their parents will now seek from us.

“As the media are now saying, we must carry on and not be defeated or divided by this evil act and the North West will remain strong and welcoming as always.

“Our small office is unfortunately outside of the BID area and we run without any support or funds from Tourism initiatives but we won’t let this wicked attack defeat us and our business here in Southport.”

If anyone would like to provide host accommodation in Southport or Formby then call Karen, Dave or Griff on 01704 501327