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Tuesday, December 02, 2008, 07:43
Organisers hope the total number of visitors to the ten-day event will top the 250,000 mark.
Bath Tourism Plus says the festive event in and around Abbey Church Yard attracted more than 5,500 people per hour on Saturday, its busiest day so far.
The marketing body expects that between 225,000 and 250,000 people will visit the market altogether, beating previous figures of around 200,000.
Market organiser Charlotte Buckley said: "I have received very positive feedback from the Christmas Market traders. They have been really busy since the market opened and have been very pleased with the level of sales gained so far."
Previous research has suggested that more than 60 per cent of market customers have visited Bath specifically for the event, which this year has more than 120 stalls.
The city's tourist information centre says there were virtually no hotel rooms to be had in Bath last weekend - with high levels of bookings for this weekend too.
Some 625 coach parties have booked visits to the market, which ends on Sunday.
Bath Tourism Plus chief executive Robin Bischert said: "We are delighted with the smooth operation of the Christmas Market and are extremely pleased with the performance so far in attracting large numbers of visitors."
He said the high visitor numbers were all the more striking because of the current economic climate, building work at SouthGate and the increased competition of the new Cabot Circus centre in Bristol.
He added: "We are certain that the remaining days will be just as rewarding and that the 2008 Bath Christmas Market will be the most successful to date."
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