25 July 2017

Bournemouth Latest Facts 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