7:00am Tuesday 9th December 2008
By Louise Dunderdale
THIS summer’s Bournemouth Air Festival is being credited with bringing a desperately-needed £24 million into the town.
The four-day spectacular was such a success that tourism chiefs want to make similar events a key part of the town’s appeal to visitors.
One hotelier has credited the festival with restoring the “feelgood factor” to the resort in a year of doom and gloom.
Tourism bosses knew the August event had been a triumph, bringing in more than 750,000 people into town from across the UK.
But a study carried out by Bournemouth University’s Market Research Group spells out the scale of its success:
Kevin Wood, director of Oceana Hotels, said his hotels had taken more than £250,000 in the air festival week.
“It was a huge success,” he said.
“It also gave Bournemouth the feelgood factor, something we really need this year with all the doom and gloom.”
The festival was primarily funded by corporate sponsors and traders.
Evening events during the festival helped to attract and keep visitors in the town and helped reduce traffic congestion as day visitors left over a longer period of time.
Some 53 percent of the 451 people who took part in the university survey said they had a higher opinion of Bournemouth following the festival.
Another air festival is scheduled for August 20-23 2009.
The success of the 2008 event has been taken on board by the organisers of Bournemouth’s Town Centre Master Vision regeneration project.
Consultation into the Town Centre Master Vision closed in November and results are expected later this month.
Ideas in the draft vision include building a botanic garden, a treetop walkway in the gardens and improving the flyover at Pier Approach.
Cllr John Beesley, deputy council leader, said: “I’m particularly delighted that, during a time of economic downturn, a council-organised event has generated significant income for local traders.
“This study has confirmed the importance of providing evening events to encourage people to stay in Bournemouth during a major festival and make the most of our excellent restaurants and hotels.
“The lessons from this confirm that events should play a major role in our final Town Centre Master Vision.”
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