SECURING & DEVELOPING THE FUTURE OF OUR DESTINATION
Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole Accommodation BID
Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole becomes the first coastal Accommodation BID in the UK after business voted YES in the ballot. Thank you to all those that have been involved in helping us shape the future.
Welcome to the Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole Accommodation Business Improvement District website
Here you can find out everything you need to know about this bold and exciting new concept to secure and develop the future of our destination.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole sit on the Jurassic Coastline, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Alongside the coastal landscape, the area boasts a variety of tourist attractions. The area's cultural scene flourishes with theatres, galleries, and live music venues, offering diverse entertainment.
Bournemouth's renowned sandy beaches, to iconic piers, parks and gardens.
Christchurch, the historic Priory Church, castle ruins and Quay bring the past to life
Poole's bustling harbour is home to Brownsea Island and the Lighthouse Arts Centre
Sustaining Tourism in Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole
Our visitor economy is hugely important to our destination. It is also becoming increasingly competitive and therefore the importance of making potential visitors aware of what our area has to offer and ensuring that they have the best visitor experience when they come is even more crucial. With public sector finances also under severe pressure, resulting in a funding gap, the industry has been debating the introduction of a new sustainable model to fund the delivery of destination marketing, large-scale events and other initiatives encouraging year-round leisure and business tourism across the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole region.
Now using an innovative version of the Business Improvement District concept, about 70 major Accommodation Providers in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area are looking to raise circa £2m pa for the area.
The £2m pa will be invested in 3 key areas but will ultimately be determined through consultation with the industry in February and March 2024.
1
International & Domestic Destination Marketing, PR & Events for Leisure & Business
2
Destination Placemaking & Logistics
3
Destination Showcasing, Funding & Partnerships
It will culminate in a ballot of circa 70 Accommodation Providers in April 2024 to allow its introduction.
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Rosie Radwell from Marsham Court Hotel who is Chairing the Shadow Board commented:
‘Destinations are having to come up with different ways to remain competitive. This requires new ways of thinking and investment. Manchester and Liverpool have been the first places to introduce Accommodation BIDs and we want to be a step ahead and become the first coastal destination to do so’.
David Bailey, President of BAHA and Vice Chair of the Shadow Board added:
‘The great thing about this concept is it is based on performance, hotels will only contribute commensurate with their occupancy. Going forward it will also mean the management and development of our visitor offering will largely be in the hands of the industry’.
Andy Lennox, Chair of DMB said:
‘The DMB is committed to a cross-sector and bi-partisan approach to getting this destination back on track. The ABID is a unique proposition for our three towns and its swift implementation is one of the most important opportunities for our local business community both now and in the future. Its successful delivery will reverberate around the conurbation for many years to come. We are committed to ensuring that it is successful and that it helps delivers a clean, green, safe, vibrant and eventful conurbation for businesses and residents in the future’.
Councillor Vikki Slade, Leader of BCP Council commented:
‘We as a Council welcome the industry’s pro-active approach and are excited at the prospect of working in partnership with the proposed new Accommodation BID, to deliver a more productive and resilient visitor economy and destination management. As the Council moves to a new way of working, as an enabler rather than deliverer. We will do everything within our power to help the process to a successful conclusion’.
