THE nationwide campaign to put small businesses in the spotlight will make Bournemouth the last stop of its national tour this year.

Small Business Saturday UK – whose theme will be Small Business, Big Difference – will start its promotional bus tour in Aberdeen and finish in Bournemouth.

The visits will promote the campaign to consumers and small business owners, with workshops and seminars at every destination. The local stop is on Friday, November 25, 10am-2pm.

Small Business Saturday UK takes place on Saturday, December 3.

Michelle Ovens, national campaign director for Small Business Saturday, said: “Small Business Saturday is not just a campaign to raise awareness of our diverse and innovative small business sector, but also a vehicle from which small businesses who embrace make use of the campaign can derive tangible benefit.

“The bus tour is a very visible way for us to meet small businesses around the UK and show them how they can become involved as well as drumming up consumer interest, support and enthusiasm.

“We are really looking forward to welcoming small business owners and consumers to the bus to get information and find out ways in which they can support small businesses and make the day work most effectively for companies in their own communities.”

Small Business Saturday is in its fourth year. Last year’s event saw an estimated £623million spent with small businesses on the day – up by £119m on the year before.

More than 100,000 tweets were sent in support of the event on the day, reaching 25m people.

Around three quarters of all local authorities actively supported the campaign on the day, from staging events to offering free parking.

Small Business Saturday, a not-for-profit campaign, was founded by American Express in the US in 2010 and the financial services company remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK.

The campaign is also backed by organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses and Enterprise Nation and The campaign is also supported by PRS For Music, TalkTalk Business, Vistaprint, Post Office, Clear Channel and STIHL.

Logos, digital banners, a social media guide and toolkits will be available to download at smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com, while businesses can also upload information about promotional offers for the day at the My Small Business Finder section of the site.