In his regular column DAVID ANDREWS, chief executive of York-based Yorkshire Tourist Board, talks about the visitor experience and how the quality of public space makes or breaks a visit to the city.

WALKING down the street the other day I saw something I had never seen before in York - a man operating a high-pressure machine had cleaned the gum from a section of the pavement.

The difference was incredible, I hardly recognised the stone pavement, mainly because I was so used to seeing it dotted with lumps of flattened, grey, discarded chewing gum. This reinforced my belief that some people do not appreciate the importance of the environment we live in.

Some, but not all. Big business in the city has rallied to pour more than £100,000 into York Business Pride - a group determined to beautify the place. That de-gumming machine was part of it. It is a spirit that should be applauded.

Tourism is an experience made up of hundreds of different elements - accommodation, attractions, transport, retail, eateries and so on.

Integral to that experience is the quality of public space.

You can have the best hotel or attraction, but if the pavements outside are strewn with litter and spattered with vomit following the previous night's drinking session, then the overall experience of the hotel or attraction can be instantly forgotten.

Public space is seen as being the responsibility of the local authority and, therefore, people tend to leave it to them to resolve. But "public space" is just that - "public", the responsibility of us all who work and live in this great city. Civic pride is vital to all communities. If people are proud of the village, town, city, country or coastal resort in which they live they will sell the virtues to visitors.

Many initiatives have been tried to improve the quality of a visitor's tourism experience. "Welcome Host", part of the "Welcome to Excellence" suite of courses, enables businesses to improve the quality of customer care provided; grant lottery funds are awarded to projects such as the Church Tourism; and "buy local" initiatives are designed to restore and improve the interpretation of our heritage; and awards schemes such as Yorkshire In Bloom which strive to improve our aesthetic landscape all work hard to improve the overall experience.

I've long argued the need to improve the quality of public space. I believe replacing York Stone pavements with Marshal paving on cost grounds diminishes the uniqueness of York - all other cities would be the same.

Public art also adds to the appeal. Although the statue of St Helena proposed several years ago by York Civic Trust for St. Helen's Square was rejected, it would certainly have improved the visitor's experience as has the statue of her son, Roman Emperor Constantine at the Minster.

The key to all this is still civic pride - we must strive for a city where people don't drop litter, spit out chewing gum or stub out cigarette butts on to pavements, lorries don't park on pavements and warp them and businesses join together to collectively take part in the Christmas Lights initiative or Awards schemes such as Yorkshire in Bloom. People, when they see visitors looking lost, should go up and offer assistance, walk them in the right direction and tell them what a great place and honour it is for them to be sharing it with them.

I feel proud to have a great sense of civic pride. If we all share that pride then the city will be a much better place for visitors and residents to enjoy.

Updated: 12:01 Tuesday, February 24, 2004