Apart from the disgrace of the Bayside Festival collapse (and a similar failure in London) the Olympic Games has been a triumph.

Everybody involved should be congratulated, from the ambassadors to the athletes.

None of us can afford to rest on our laurels, though, if we really want a legacy from this.

Tourism income is down. Research shows this always happens at Olympic sites, because visitor numbers fall, and those who do come spend less than regular visitors.

And in Weymouth this becomes a triple-whammy because the Games were in high season, which is unusual, and means we do not have the compensation of an off-season boost.

The dip is likely to continue through next year and beyond, because established booking patterns have been disrupted.

So hoteliers, retailers and others dependent on tourism will have to work extra hard to identify and exploit new revenue opportunities.

Beyond that, we need economic regeneration which is not dependent on tourism.

The county council must work with the borough (and vice versa) in driving forward with the Invest in Dorset programme, building on the model of the British Business Pavilion in Dorset.

And at the same time they must find more effective ways of supporting existing firms as well as attracting new business.

The rest of us, I suggest, should do everything we can to build up Weymouth and Portland rather than running it down.

The feel-good factor of the past fortnight has resulted in an unprecedented succession of positive stories on the front page of the Echo.

I doubt if I’m alone in hoping we may see more of this – and in hoping the perpetual moaners and name-and-address-supplieds may give us a break.

Michael Wheller,  High Street Wyke Regis Weymouth