THE number of nightclubs in Bournemouth has slumped despite its reputation as a stag and hen night destination.

Observers of the industry say the town – which in the past has drawn people from miles around to clubs playing specialist dance music – is seeing the same decline as other areas.

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers found that the number of nightclubs nationally had almost halved in 10 years – falling from 3,144 to 1,733 since 2005.

Jon Shipp, night time economy manager with Bournemouth council, said: “I suppose Bournemouth is on a par with the rest of the country with nightclubs closing.

“We’ve seen some closures, some of them quite large units.

“Thankfully we also have new units coming in like Jalarra, Brewhouse and Kitchen, and fewer of the larger, ‘vertical drinking’ clubs, which is making our balance my diverse. You could see it as a positive.”

The former Plush and PurEssence nightspots in the former Maples building on St Peter’s Road are among the clubs to close in recent times.

Town centre councillor Bob Chapman said: “It seems that the smaller nightclubs are surviving but as for the bigger ones, people prefer to go to these lounge bars and other smaller venues.

“We had quite clearly too many nightclubs, too many big clubs that had one stage, which were causing problems when people all piled out in the early hours of the morning.

“So I think the residents of the town centre will certainly appreciate the lower number of venues.”

Among Bournemouth’s remaining key players is the Deltic Group, formerly Luminar, which operates Cameo & Myu.

Earlier this year, it announced its third consecutive year of growth, having invested £312,000 in its Bournemouth site.