Who's winning the tourism battle - Southampton or Portsmouth?

But on Wednesday Southampton and Portsmouth’s bid to become the 2017 UK City of Culture came to an end.

Despite the hopes of civic chiefs in both cities that success could bring unprecedented levels of cultural prestige to the region, the joint bid did not make the cut for the final shortlist.

Now the cities must look on in envy as Hull, Swansea Bay, Leicester and Dundee battle it out to succeed the current City of Culture, Derry.

In the wake of the failure, both cities will nowgo it alone in the battle to win tourists and investment.

So who is best placed for the fight ahead?

Amid the fanfare of worldwide media interest, the opening of the £35m Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth this month has led to fears that the city has stolen a march on Southampton in the battle to become the south coast’s tourism capital.

Tourism is vital to both cities’ industries, and that is only going to increase with many people preferring stay-at-home holidays to expensive foreign trips at a time when they are forced into tightening their belts.

And with millions of pounds worth of investment available for the local economy as a result of tourism, attracting large numbers of visitors has become more important than ever.

The 16th-century wreck of the Mary Rose has long been one of Britain’s most iconic historic attractions. But the new, iconic design of the attraction and the fact that 19,000 artefacts from the ship now form part of the museum, it has become one of the UK’s leading tourist attractions outside of London.

Museum bosses expected half a million people to file through its doors each year to look at Henry VIII’s doomed flagship.

Portsmouth's Mary Rose Museum

And the leader of Hampshire County Council, Roy Perry, has hailed the new museum as a boost to “the whole of Hampshire”, which will have a significant impact on the whole county’s “cultural legacy and future economic prosperity”.

Of course most of the £35m cost was met by a £23m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, but with its unique, “jewellery box” design it is an attraction that will last and bring a sustained boost to Portsmouth’s tourism industry over the decades to come.

Factor in the city’s historic dockyard, the home of the Royal Navy, and Portsmouth’s naval heritage which will attract people from across the country, and even the world.

Although the city’s Spinnaker Tower was five years late and over-budget, the 558ft tower is the tallest public building in the country outside London and a truly unique landmark which has attracted millions more people to the region since opening in 2005.

The Spinnaker Tower

By contrast, Southampton is a city equally rich in heritage and culture but currently lacking in landmark attractions of the same size.

From the Spitfire to the Titanic, the city has a rich history to play upon and a number of excellent museums, ranging from Solent Sky to the £15m SeaCity Museum, which opened last year.

But despite the target-busting 140,000 people who visited the SeaCity Museum in its first year, the scale of Portsmouth’s attractions has sparked fears that Pompey may now o v e r s h a d o w Southampton in terms of what it has to offer tourists from across the country.

Peter Colling, managing director at Tourism South East, said that Southampton is very strong in terms of retail, accommodation and business tourism.

But, he said: “I think Portsmouth certainly is up there in terms of the range of visitor attractions.

“The historic dockyard, the Spinnaker Tower and the attractions around the city are as strong as anywhere in the country outside of London.

“I think what the two cities have to offer is quite complementary – the challenge for both of them is to ensure that visitors who are coming in to the cities on cruise ships or ferries stay in the cities to have their excursions, as opposed to going farther afield.”

Portsmouth City Council leisure chief Lee Hunt says he believes political stability has helped Portsmouth to forge ahead with huge projects.

The Liberal Democrat group became a minority administration in 2004, before wrestling full control of the council in 2009.

Southampton has had a Liberal Democrat-Labour coalition, Conservative and Labour administrations in the same time.

Cllr Hunt said: “I think a number of things have helped us.“Political stability in the city is certainly a factor.

“Adult and children’s services are prioritised, but otherwise attracting investment and regeneration in the city has been a priority for us.

“We are doing things that will make our city into an international destination and we are focusing on the maritime heritage and literary heritage.

“Another thing that we have been able to do is encourage a lot of people to form trusts and they have gone on to draw in money for the city.”

He added that council officers had worked closely with the trusts on schemes for the benefit of the city.

One such trust is the Portsmouth Cultural Trust, which runs the city Guildhall. There have of course been plans for developments in Southampton to rival the scale of what is going on 20 miles down the road.

Ambitious plans for an enormous museum of Southampton, shaped like the wing of a Spitfire and at 443ft tall rivalling Spinnaker Tower in terms of height, bit the dust after the scheme ran into cash difficulties.

But civic chiefs in Southampton hope that there will soon be more on offer in the city to redress the balance.

After years of frustrating delays, the stunning arts complex planned for the city centre could soon become a reality with amended plans due to be given final approval later this year.

And the city’s waterfront is also set for a huge overhaul, with plans in the pipeline for a £450m transformation of Royal Pier which would see a luxury hotel rising up from reclaimed land, overlooking a marina, restaurants, bars and a casino.

Southampton City Council leader Simon Letts said: 'We don't see our relationship with Portsmouth as a competition, we are collaborating with them on a joint City Deal and City of Culture bid.

“Portsmouth has a high quality cultural offer due to its naval history whilst Southampton is a vibrant shopping destination and world class port.

Southampton's planned arts complex

“Developments such as the Cultural Quarter, Water Mark WestQuay and Royal Pier will complement our current assets like the Mayflower theatre, Art Gallery and SeaCity Museum.

“I think Southampton has great potential in the weekend city break market with its emphasis on quality shopping and entertainment.”