The tourism industry, which tends to be labour intensive, presents many challenges to the employer and employment law advisers. The need to ensure that employees can be engaged in the most flexible manner is vital, and an understanding of topics such as employment status, seasonal working, holiday accrual and pay and Working Time Regulations is crucial. Too many employers do not choose, or are unaware of, the best way to contract with their labour and in doing so find they are hamstrung by an inflexible workforce or, worse still, find themselves on the wrong end of Tribunal claims or HMRC enquiries. We work with our tourism employers to ensure they are able to operate as dynamically as possible.

The NW Brown Group is firmly committed to supporting the tourism industry in Norfolk, recognising that it is a key local employer and contributor of revenue to the County. As one of the region’s leading providers of financial services, our expertise includes insurance, pensions, investments and employee benefits. Our advice is offered from a viewpoint that is completely independent - an increasingly rare and valuable commodity in today's markets. If you would like to know more about NW Brown, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Tourism not only has an important role to play within the local economy, but, as most tourism business owners would agree, businesses within the sector require regular investment to ensure that service and quality standards are maintained. However, it appears that tourism businesses, like businesses within any other sector, remain hesitant to approach local managers, due to the continued perception that bank's aren't lending to SME customers. Not all banks will have the same views on the strength of a lending proposal< with a clear understanding of the business, the individuals within it and their ability to repay. The earlier the relationship manager can be involved in understanding the objectives of the business, the more likely they will be able to find a way of assisting.

We need a more widespread acceptance in Norfolk that marketing spend needs to increase. Some other counties' marketing budgets are colossal in comparison. The model is "you don't pay, you don't play". There are key players in Norfolk tourism who understand this, and it's up to those of us who do understand to persuade the rest of the sector to the same point of view. It's now up to the private sector businesses within Norfolk tourism to do this. Collectively, we can achieve more to market our remarkable destination.

The old adage that "a picture can speak a thousand words" is never more true than when imagining the many and varied tourist destinations here in Norfolk. From the tranquil Broads and stunning coastline to our magnificent buildings - cathedrals, castle and medieval architecture - Norfolk offers businesses in the tourism sector a wealth of opportunity for eye-catching marketing material. Despite the increase in e-marketing and social media in recent years, tourism remains one of the industries where printed material remains as important as ever and we applaud those individuals and companies in the sector who capitalise so wonderfully on the abundance of marketing opportunities which are right on our doorstep.