AROUND 17million visits were made to the town centres of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole during the festive period, according to BCP Council. 

Official footfall data from BCP Council shows more than 8.8m visits were made to Bournemouth town centre and Christmas Tree Wonderland over November and December. 

Christchurch welcomed 2.77m visits during the same period and a further 5.75m visits were made to Poole in November and December, for both the town centre and the new Poole Christmas Maritime Light Festival. 

Read more: More than four million visit Bournemouth and Poole's Christmas lights

Councillor Philip Broadhead, portfolio holder for development, growth and regeneration, said: “The local economy is currently facing significant pressures, and while the rail strikes and freezing temperatures in December may have kept some people away from our town centres alongside the general cost of living worries, people were still keen to enjoy the Christmas festivities and visit our area. 

“In our Big Plan we set out our vision to support local businesses and create a successful economy in an area where people love to live, learn, work and play, so it’s very important to us that we bring in footfall through these initiatives when it’s needed the most.” 

Bournemouth Echo: Christmas lights in BournemouthChristmas lights in Bournemouth (Image: Richard Crease)

Councillor Beverley Dunlop, cabinet member for tourism and culture, said: “We’ve all got a tough year ahead, which is why the events we put on as a council are so vital to so many of our residents.  

“Our visitor economy draws in £1billion to the local economy every year and supports more than 17,000 jobs, so we need to maximise events such as these Christmas ones, so we continue to attract everyone to our three towns and help boost the economy where we can.”   

BCP Council say the footfall figures are based on a new method of tracking footfall through Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole based on the movement of smart devices rather than just at fixed points in a very limited area, which has been used in previous years, a method which “ensure greater accuracy and understanding of trends”.