Tourism chiefs will not be switched off the idea of national TV advertising despite visitor numbers failing to soar after Blackpool's first television advertising campaign.

Members of the Blackpool Marketing Consortium are set to meet this week to discuss the way forward after a year in which, by general consensus, trade fell back slightly despite the £800,000 national marketing push.

The consortium is led by Blackpool Council, Leisure Parcs and the Pleasure Beach with support from contributors including the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, the Sandcastle and the Noble Organisation.

Cllr Eddie Collett, Blackpool's tourism portfolio holder, said: "I think this season has been very mixed and I think that it could have been a lot worse if we hadn't had the advertising campaign.

"The commitment from the major players in the town remains - this was never intended to be a one year project.

"Obviously we will look at the analysis and confirm it has been a worthwhile exercise before we make a decisions to go ahead.

"Obviously we would like more partners to join the consortium so we can fund better campaigns in future years.

"The feeling is that the weekends have been OK but midweek seems to have been quieter. One thing that we are trying to get away from is the idea that there is an 'end of season.'

The illuminations may have finished but I was going to a meeting this week and the promenade was packed with coaches - there was a lot of business going on this week."

Blackpool Pleasure Beach reported visitor numbers down 200,000 to 6 million for the season.

Managing director, Amanda Thompson, said: "Visitor numbers are marginally down on last year.

"I think this is a general reflection of what's happening in the town and the economy in general, particularly the leisure and retail sectors.

"We are competing against a diverse range of leisure attractions from garden centres to shopping malls, not to mention traditional tourist attractions such as museums and zoos.

"Blackpool is going through an exciting period of regeneration but it will be a long time before the resort's image as a whole becomes a draw for new visitors.

"It's therefore important that the key players within the town continue to work together, through the consortium, to highlight the positives Blackpool does have to offer and to encourage people to re-discover the fun, theatre and thrills of this amazing resort."