PAUL CONYERS-SILVERTHORN - who am I? Why do I make such a fuss about tourism?

I have spent my life in the travel industry, as a tour operator from junior courier to marketing director; as cruise director in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean; as passenger officer with British Eagle airlines; as proprietor of a chain of travel agencies; as consultant to the Canadian Government Office of Tourism, to the President of the Seychelles, to British Rail International, to Eurostar. Then as I returned to Broadstairs, where my family have lived for hundreds of years, I couldn't refuse the offer of becoming general manager, sales and marketing and director of external affairs of Sally Line, as one of the team which brought it into profit and turned it into the cash cow of the parent group.

I was elected to Thanet District Council, where I served a year as deputy leader, and Broadstairs and St Peter's Town Council. I served as trustee on three local charities, as Governor at my old school, Chatham House, as a founder member of the Thanet Skills Initiative and Ramsgate Spring Festival, which I helped run for seven years. I was also a founder member of the Association for the Promotion of Herefordshire, East Kent Tourism Development Action Programme and the North West European Tourism Organisation. I was guest lecturer on empowerment and the practical application of interpersonal management theory to small business at various management colleges and business forums, as well as a frequent speaker at charity and business breakfasts, lunches and dinners. On the other side of the coin, I was appointed Town Crier for Broadstairs and St Peter's, the first for 60 years. Sadly, after five years, I had to retire due to ill health, which I have now conquered. I now have time to sit at my computer and think and put my thoughts on paper as e-mails and letters, using my speech recognition software since I can't operate the keyboard any more.

My life in tourism and my love for Thanet drive me to seek the very best tourism promotion we can get, because that's our finest resource and lots of people lose sight of it. Economic regeneration for such a deprived area is a vital part of the future, despite the cries of people who thought they would like to retire down here to get some peace and sod the jobs.