Top travel editor to give his views on Bath's tourism industry
Renowned travel journalist Simon Calder is visiting Bath today to talk about the city’s future plans to promote tourism.
The Independent travel editor is the guest speaker at the Bath Tourism Plus (BTP) annual Tourism Forum this morning and will be giving his views on how the city compares to other destinations.
-
Bath
There, the company will launch its new destination marketing strategy, which outlines plans to expand the industry to £400 million by 2014.
It has set out five targets which it believes will be key in building tourism in the local area.
These are:
- Boosting the value of overnight visitors to the city by 12 per cent.
- Increasing the value of high-spending international visitors, focusing on the US, Europe and China, by 12 per cent.
- Growing the value of business tourism by nine percent.
- Improving the value of day visitors by 12 per cent.
- Increasing the value of visitor nights spent in Bath by ten per cent.
Nick Brooks-Sykes, BTP chief executive, said the city needed to keep challenging itself in terms of its tourism industry.
He said: “We are very much looking forward to launching the new destination marketing strategy at our Tourism Forum and working with businesses in and around Bath to achieve the planned targets.
“These are exciting times for Bath’s visitor economy – our new Tourist Information Centre is about to open with the Bath Festivals Box Office also on site, we have a new marketing campaign ready to launch and we are forging new and strong partnerships with others, including the Business Improvement District, Bristol Airport and our universities.
“Although Bath is one of the UK’s world-class destinations, we cannot become complacent. We need to ensure that Bath maintains its appeal by using inspiring and imaginative ways to attract visitors here”.
Bath is one of the few destinations in the country which has been allocated additional funds by Visit England to boost its tourism economy.
8 Comments
by McFrank
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 5:01PM
“Most Americans do the 'Day Trip' from London via Winsor Castle, Stone Henge and then Bath! London IS the place they want to stay over night/s. Bath cannot even accomadate the coaches that arrive let alone it's dayily traffic intake. Parking (the lack of) is the number one problem. The powers that be are crying out for MORE torists but have not once looked in to really solving this problem. They have given the go ahead to build more hotels without any parking facilties. The roads of Bath are clogged to the gunnels with on street parking from the city limits to the center and then along comes some idiot and has the already narrow roads 'narrowed'! They are thinking just like the guys that planned and built the first Motorway systems .....NO forward thinking what so ever.They had to go back and widen every one of them! Bath roads are STILL much the same as when I was a kid (the 50's) and even pre WWII. So NO planning at ALL to take in to account of traffic increases. I can't name ONE street in Bath that does NOT have a problem with parking AND still the idiots WANT more traffic to 'visit' the city! Even the folks in charge of the pile of stones up the road now realise that the traffic IS a major problem and are NOW doing something about it! BIG TIME!
Not only the tourists but also the 'poor' students clog up the roads for the locals and ALL we hear is ????????? NADA!”
by MajorFlack
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 3:07PM
“The notion (amendment) that "BTP want to increase VALUE of tourism" is meaningless without the NUMBER of tourists being increased. Unless of course there is news of significant increases in such things as admission, accommodation and parking charges to follow this moveable feast of a story.”
by rogerh3
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 2:47PM
“If a day visitor becomes an overnight visitor or a one-night guest becomes a two-night one it's unlikely to lead to additional visits to the Roman Baths. They'll all still mostly go only once. Hopefully, though, with more time in the city it would increase visits to some of the less popular attractions.”
by Paulwiltshire
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 2:30PM
“Should stress BTP want to increase VALUE of tourism, not necessarily number of tourists. Apologies if we confused the two earlier
Paul Wiltshire, deputy editor”
by MajorFlack
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 2:14PM
“Thanks Roger. So do you know how that will work?
How can increasing overnight, business, day visitor, and the total number of nights spent in Bath, not in turn increase the number of visitors to any of the city's attractions and especially the Roman Baths?”
by rogerh3
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 1:01PM
“I believe Cllr. Beath was talking only about visitors to the Roman Baths.”
by MajorFlack
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 12:12PM
“Boosting overnight visitors to the city by 12 per cent?
Growing business tourism by nine percent?
Improving the number of day visitors by 12 per cent?
Increasing the number of visitor nights spent in Bath by ten per cent?
Bath Tourism Plus should fully check the viability and sustainability of these aims instead of doing the easy thing (also making it appear salaries are justified perhaps) by "talking up" prospects and vague aspirations, because...
Last week Cabinet member for sustainable development Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib Dem, Combe Down) said: "The council is not trying to increase visitor numbers yet further."
Both contradictory viewpoints can't be applied.”
by airhellair
Tuesday, January 31 2012, 10:44AM
“Will Simon Calder be bringing stag and hen parties with him? Apparently, there's a lack of them in the city....”