Bournemouth Latest Facts
25th July 2017
- 6.88m visitors to Bournemouth per year
The Economic Impact of Bournemouth’s Visitor Economy 2015 – The South West Research Company:
- 1,009,000 Staying visitor trips
- 4,038,000 Staying visitor nights
- £287,521,000 Staying visitor spend
- 5,798,000 Day visits
- £213,071,000 Day visitor spend
- £500,592,000 Direct visitor spend
- £15,647,000 Other related spend
- £516,239,000 TOTAL VISITOR RELATED SPEND
- 11,779 Estimated actual employment
- 8,614 FTE employment
- 12% Proportion of all employment25/07/2017
- 13,868 Bed spaces (hotels, guest accommodation & B&B)
- 329 Self-catering units
Fun facts:
- Bournemouth experiences 7.7 hours of summer sunshine a day
- Ice creams sold on a busy weekend - approx 30,000
- Every year an average 750,000 ice creams are bought on the seven miles of Bournemouth seafront
- Deckchairs hired out on a busy weekend - 3,000
- In the summer the beaches are raked by the tractors every morning and manually litter picked twice a day
- Bournemouth Pier has the world’s first and only pier-to-shore zipline
- Bournemouth Mayor Merton Russell-Cotes is said to have received his knighthood for his discretion when King Edward VII regularly visited the Russell-Cotes with his famous mistress, Lily Langtry
- Bournemouth was the first place in the UK to have purpose-built beach huts, built in 1909 and marked with a blue plaque near to the east of Bournemouth Pier
- Bournemouth’s renowned beach has four Blue Flags – Durley Chine has held the accolade for every one of the 30 years since the scheme’s inception
- Fisherman’s Walk Cliff Lift in Southbourne made it into the 2015 Guinness World Records as the world’s shortest funicular railway
- From 1st April until 17th September 2017 Bournemouth sold approx. 18599 souvenirs!! That’s an average of 775 items a week.
Awards:
2017
- Group Travel Awards 2017 – finalist
- Blue Flag beaches: Alum Chine, Durley Chine, Fisherman’s Walk and Southbourne
- Seaside Awards: Bournemouth Beach and Boscombe Beach
- British Coach Tourism Awards 2017 – Coach Friendly Destination Finalist
2016
- Beach Hut Local Authority of the Year 2016
- Blue Flag beaches: Alum Chine, Durley Chine, Fisherman’s Walk and Southbourne
- Seaside Awards: Bournemouth Beach and Boscombe Beach
- 2016 Quality Coast Award
- Green Flag locations: Lower, Central Upper Gardens, Alum Chime, Seafield Gardens, Winton Recreation Ground, Redhill Park & Common, Pelhams Park, Moore Ave, Boscombe Gardens, Stour Valley Nature Reserve, Fishermans Walk, Kinson Common, Hengistbury Head (+ Green Heritage Flag), Springbourne Gardens, Slades Farm Playing Fields, Queens Park Golf Course, Tuckton Tea Gardens, Strouden (North) Cemetery
- Purple Flag Award
- 2016 Group Travel Awards – runner-up
- South West Tourism Awards – Tourism Information Service of the Year 2015/16 Silver
- ‘Coach Friendly Town’ – Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT)
2015
- Silver Travel Awards – Best Town in the UK Finalist 2015
- National Coach Tourism Awards – Coach Friendly Destination 2015 Finalist
- Group Travel Awards – Best UK Destination for groups 2015 Runner Up
- Visit England Awards for Excellence – Tourism Event of the Year (Bournemouth Air Festival) 2015 Gold
- Dorset Tourism Awards – Tourist Information Service of the Year 2015 Gold & Unsung Hero for Outstanding Customer Service 2015 Gold
- Primary Times Dorset Reader Star Awards 2015 – Best Event this Year (Bournemouth Air Festival) 2015
- British Travel Awards – Best UK Coastal Resort Silver 2015
2014
- National PR Golden Hedgehog Awards – Public Sector Campaign of the Year 2014
- The Travel Marketing Awards – Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year 2014
- European Airshow Council Marketing Award 2014
- British Travel Awards – Best UK Coastal Resort Gold 2014
- Dorset Tourism Awards – Event of the Year (Bournemouth Air Festival) 2014
- Group Travel Awards – Best UK Destination for groups 2014 Runner Up
- European Entente Florale – Gold 2014
2013
- British Destination Awards – Best Brochure Front Cover of the Year 2013
- British Travel Awards – Best UK Coastal Resort Gold 2013
2012
- Trip Advisor Travellers Choice Awards – Best Beach in the UK 2012
2011
- South West Tourism Awards Silver Award – Best Event (Bournemouth Air Festival) 2011
- European Airshow Council Marketing Award 2011
Green Apple Environmental Awards for Bournemouth Air Festival 2011
