OUR review of how the local tourist industry fared over the crucial Easter break makes it clear that the holiday was not the disaster many had feared. Despite the poor weather, people did turn out into the countryside and a number of visitor attractions had a weekend comparable to and, in some cases, better than last year.

But it was by no means universal and the remoter rural areas, the upper dales and the moors, did suffer. For all the exhortations from government ministers downwards to visit places like Hawes, there is no real incentive for the public to got to areas where the spectre of foot-and-mouth is so obvious. Even where the animal pyres have burnt themselves out, the reminders of the crisis, be they footpath closed signs or disinfectant road mats, are everywhere. It's hard to feel in the holiday mood in such an environment.

So while attractions like Thirsk's World of James Herriot and the Kirkleatham museum, near Redcar, enjoyed a bumper weekend, others suffered every bit as badly as many predicted.

The cries for help from affected businesses in these remoter areas, which are more dependent on the tourist industry than their town-based counterparts, should be heeded. They are truly desperate. The horror stories are legion, B&Bs with no bookings at all for May and June, pubs and cafes on the point of shutting up shop for the duration. Cash-flow has simply ground to halt for many of these businesses and those without substantial reserves will probably go to the wall.

The already announced package of measures which include the deferral of VAT payments and council tax do help but they will not pay all the other bills now mounting up with virtually no income to meet them. Extensive promotion and marketing will be of use once the crisis is over, as will further support for existing rural regeneration initiatives. All these measures are welcome but they do not put cash in the pockets of businesses facing ruin through no fault of their own.

Immediate interest-free loans for those businesses in the worst affected areas like upper Swaledale and Wensleydale should be considered by the government if the economic base of these upland communities is not to be irretrievably damaged.