Agenda item

The Chairman invited David Lawrence (Divisional Director for Tourism, Leisure and Culture) to give a presentation named ‘Marketing of Bath and North East Somerset through a public/private sector partnership’ (available at Democratic Services minute book).

Councillor Cherry Beath (Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development) informed the Panel that the presentation will be looking into the Tourism for the whole Bath and North East Somerset area.  The presentation will be mainly focused on Bath as tourism in Bath generates main income for the area.  Councillor Beath also mentioned the progress with the Norton Radstock Regeneration project in terms of setting the economic forum with the Town Council, local people and businesses.

David Lawrence highlighted the following points in his presentation:

·  Where is B&NES

·  A City with World Heritage Status

·  Value to the Council

·  Gross Numbers

·  Visitor profile

·  Events and Festivals

·  Driving more visitors

·  Bath Area Tourism statistics

·  Marketing the Destination by working in Partnership

·  PR & Communication

·  Conference Marketing

·  Bath Tourism Information Centre (2^nd busiest TIC in the UK)

·  Council’s Contribution; and

·  What some celebrities said about Bath

The Panel asked the following questions and made the following points:

The Panel asked what will be done to mitigate the threat of having less tourists visiting Bath during the Olympic Games in London.

David Lawrence replied that Glastonbury festival will not be happening next year because of Olympics.  There are plans for an event on Bath Racecourses and whole series of other events which will be announced next month.

The Panel asked if the list with attractions outside Bath is available in the Tourist Information Centre and what was hotel occupancy like at the moment.

David Lawrence replied that the list of attractions outside Bath is available for tourists.  The current hotel occupancy is not that great (78%) although much better than Bristol (40%).

Councillor David Dixon (Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods) and Councillor Beath suggested to Panel Members to look at the Visitors Accommodation Strategy in order to get the picture what visitors want and what their needs are for staying in Bath.

The Panel agree to have a report on hotel occupancy for the whole Bath and North East Somerset area at one of the future meetings.

David Lawrence said that Bath is currently going down on the league table in terms of the occupancy because of the current trend where big cities such as Liverpool and Manchester are progressing on the league table due to their city centre regenerations.

The Panel asked about emerging economies/countries that are coming to Bath recently.

David Lawrence replied that there was an increase in American tourists.  One of the interesting trends was the boom of the Chinese market.  The city responded to that trend and Roman Baths were seen as the most Chinese friendly spot in the world.  David Lawrence also said that there was a significant interest from Mumbai lately.

The Panel asked about the Anti-Social Behaviour impact on tourism in Bath.

David Lawrence responded that the Anti-Social Behaviour does have an impact on tourism in Bath.  However, Bath has some measures in place to reduce Anti-Social Behaviour (taxi marshals, etc).  Bath has won Purple Flag award for the management of the night time economy.

The Panel asked if the risk assessment had been done in terms of the currency rates considering that 1 in 3 visitors is from overseas.

David Lawrence replied that we do track fluctuation currency rates on weekly basis and that we do realise that it is a volatile business.

The Panel asked why Bath would be affected with the Olympics in London.

David Lawrence replied that Barcelona had been taken as an example.  During the Olympic Games there was a significant drop in visits to other attractions and places in Spain.

It was RESOLVED to:

1.  Note the presentation; and

2.  Receive a report on the Hotel Occupancy in Bath and North East Somerset area at one of the future meetings.