Get documents about "Poole _ Bournemouth Strategic Framework
Document Sample
Poole and Bournemouth
Strategic Framework and
Action Plan (2008 – 10)
Final Report
March 2008
TEAM Tourism Consulting
4 Thorburn Rd,
Edinburgh
EH13 0BQ
info@team-tourism.com
Phone: +44 131 466 1005
www.team-tourism.com
Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... i
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................1
Position Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 3
2. Overview of tourism in Poole and Bournemouth..............................................................4
3. Strategic Context...................................................................................................................9
4. Market segments .................................................................................................................12
5. The Destination – product and services ...........................................................................24
6. SWOT and Challenges ........................................................................................................32
The Strategic Framework ......................................................................................................... 35
7. Overview ...............................................................................................................................36
8. Strategic Priority 1: Attracting ............................................................................................39
9. Strategic Priority 2: Welcoming..........................................................................................43
10. Strategic Priority 3: Sustaining ............................................................................................46
11. Strategic Priority 4: Partnership ..........................................................................................49
12. Strategic Priority 5: Intelligence .........................................................................................51
13. Key Performance Indicators ..............................................................................................53
14. Action Plan............................................................................................................................54
Executive Summary
This document is a Strategic Framework and Action Plan for 2008 to 2010 for the Poole
and Bournemouth Destination Management Partnership Co-ordinating Group.
Position Analysis
The Strategic Framework provides a detailed Position Analysis looking at the current state
of tourism in Bournemouth and Poole – this looks specifically at:
The impact of tourism in Bournemouth and Poole – section 2 (page 4)
The strategic context – section 3 (page 9)
An overview of the main groups - section 4 (page 12)
The destination offer - section 5 (page 24).
The current position is summarised in a SWOT analysis – section 6 (page 32). Arising from
this, a number of challenges can be identified for Bournemouth and Poole:
Diversifying the market – the reliance older demographic groups and the potential
failure to replace lost markets and markets that are ageing is a real threat. While
these have been offset to some extent by the development of conference and
education / language school markets, there is still a need to further diversify the
market.
New products and positioning – diversifying the market may also require further
product development (continuing the process that has included development of the
BICC, language schools and, latterly, the surf reef). Allied to this some re-positioning
of the brand may be required.
Quality of the offer – it would be fair to say that, while the quality of Bournemouth and
Poole’s overall offer is good in places (e.g. environmental quality and management),
it is average in others. Bringing the standard of the overall offer up will be a
necessary pre-cursor to creating a more competitive destination. While progress has
already begun it will be a significant future challenge.
Ensuring sustainability – sustaining the tourism industry in Bournemouth and Poole will
be a key medium to long challenge.
Support infrastructure – in an atmosphere of increasingly constrained public
resources, ensuring that the tourism support infrastructure (in terms of marketing and
promotion, information provision, destination management, etc) is delivering added
value will be a major challenge. Partnership will be key to this.
i
The Strategic Framework
Reflecting these challenges, three principal strategic priorities (or areas for action) can
be identified:
Attracting – targeted marketing and development initiatives
Welcoming – quality of delivery from planning, booking through to the actual visit
Sustaining - ensuring a green and balanced industry.
Underpinning these are two further areas for action that, while not outputs in their own
right, will be necessary to the successful delivery of the strategic priorities. These are:
Partnership – ensuring the most appropriate delivery structures are in place
Intelligence – having the necessary research for effective decision making
Central to the development of these strategic priorities should lie a coherent market
development strategy. The following table summarises, in broad terms, the main market
groups and their developmental priorities and potential.
Market segment Developmental Potential
priority
Conference Development – short Potential growth in corporate markets. In association
(association and to medium term markets, the acquisition of new business will be required
corporate markets) to maintain the existing volume of business.
Language school / Maintain market There are some opportunities to expand the FE and HE
educational markets share courses and industry linked to language courses, but
appropriate accommodation may be a constraint.
Domestic holiday Market maintenance This is a major challenge, due to the anticipated long
makers term decline of the current market. The priority is one of
supplementing or replacing traditional holiday market
segments with new domestic holiday market segments.
Domestic short Development – short Significant growth potential and potentially high yield.
breaks / water sports to medium term
Day visits Market maintenance This group should also be nurtured, but recognising that
there are issues relating to yield and sustainability (both
economic and environmental).
VFR Market maintenance Growth is likely to be driven by broader economic
Business travel Market maintenance factors. Priorities will be on ensuring the quality of
product offer is right.
ii
Strategic priority 1: Attracting
This priority is concerned with activities that will motivate people to visit - i.e. providing the
right attractors and promoting these to the appropriate audience. Key elements include:
Branding and positioning - work is required to define the Bournemouth and Poole
brands and the ways in which they should be developed, particularly in terms of
attracting new markets.
Promotional activity – there are a number of areas where the Partnership should
develop joint promotional activity – e.g. on short breaks and watersports promotion,
group travel promotion, E-marketing and CRM, PR, and procurement. Additional
funding to develop BICB into Bournemouth & Poole (International) Conference
Bureau should also be explored.
New product development - new product development would facilitate the
development of new markets and strengthen competitiveness in existing markets
While potential areas could include watersports related product, further retail
development), and boutique hotel development, the focus should be on special
events development.
Raising the quality of the offer could have a significant impact on appeal, positioning
and competitiveness. The priority sector for quality improvement is
accommodation, particularly in Bournemouth but other sectors (such as attractions
and restaurants, night time economy) could also benefit.
Strategic priority 2: Welcoming
This priority is concerned with the quality of experience for the visitor through different
stages of their “trip” from booking to visit. Key areas for action include:
Booking procedures – there is a strong logic to integrating, as far as possible,
integrating information databases, and booking facilities between Bournemouth and
Poole.
Improving transport access - The Partnership will have an important role as a
potential lobbying body – proactively raising the concerns and issues of the industry,
and providing relevant expertise. There are also areas of access where the DMP can
have a more direct impact - e.g. the development of transport schemes (such as a
water bus), development of joint information and service promotion, and co-
ordinated white-on-brown signing schemes.
Public realm - areas of potential Partnership work include the development of joint
policies, and information initiatives (e.g. on seafront byelaws, and the night time
economy), and looking at common standards and improvements for entry points
across both towns.
Disabled Accessibility – core areas for the Partnership will include, e.g. a joint access
guide and common web standards.
iii
Strategic priority 3: Sustaining
Tourism relies on the integrity of the destination’s environment and it is recognised that
destinations have to be environmentally and socially sustainable. Options for ensuring
sustainable good practice in Bournemouth and Poole include:
Sustainable businesses –encouraging good business practice through actions that
make savings and minimise impact (e.g. Actions of the Year), and promoting
accreditation schemes such as the Green Tourism Business Scheme.
Visitor stewardship - priorities include promoting Futurefootprint messages (e.g. 'Try
Local, Buy Local', 'Explore what's on your doorstep'), and developing a sustainable
tourism charter.
Future proofing - Climate Change could have a significant potential impact on
Bournemouth and Poole and a potential role of the DMP is to input into advance or
contingency planning to address some of these issues.
Host communities - The host community is a key element of tourism sustainability and
within Bournemouth and Poole should continue to have involvement in the tourism
sector through, e.g. citizen’s panels, consultation and specific host community
research, and activities orientated to both residents and tourists (e.g. events, tourism
week, special promotions).
Strategic Priority 4: Partnership
To deliver a joint Bournemouth and Poole tourism agenda there is a need for an
appropriate infrastructure and delivery mechanism. This is currently provided by the
Poole and Bournemouth DMP Co-ordinating Group.
The approach to the development of the DMP should be an iterative and incremental
one – i.e. as the need and rationale for a stronger partnership arises (through e.g. the
development of a potential joint brand architecture), the organisation and its scope and
method of delivery be reviewed. Central therefore to the development of the DMP will
be a finite action plan but also regularly auditing / monitoring of its activities.
The Partnership will endeavour to lever in available external funding from, e.g. SWERDA,
and the private sector for particular initiatives. It will also seek to achieve economies of
scale in the utilisation of existing budgets (from the respective tourism offices) for some
joint projects.
Strategic Priority 5: Research and Intelligence
Research and intelligence is key to good decision making and to performance
monitoring, and the Partnership should look at developing a research programme based
around three principal pieces of regular research. These are:
iv
Industry monitoring research
Regular visitor surveys
Host communities research to look at their (changing) views of the tourism industry –
This core programme should be supported by a number of ad-hoc pieces of research
such as further research into perceptions and brands, and gaps and opportunities
among visitors and non-visitors, and conference research.
Key performance indicators
A number of performance indicators should be developed as a mechanism for
monitoring the strategic progress of the DMP (and other organisations it works with) and
associated activity. In many cases the baseline and targets need to be set following
more detailed research. A range of indicators are outlined in section 13 (page 53).
Action plan
Section 14 (page 54) provides a detailed action plan outlining a range of projects for the
partnership – their priority and approximate costs.
v
1. Introduction
In April 2007, the Poole and Bournemouth Destination Management Partnership Co-
ordinating Group and South West Tourism commissioned TEAM Tourism Consulting to
develop a Strategic Framework and Action Plan for 2008 to 2010.
The purpose of the Strategic Framework is to provide a robust and cohesive joint tourism
action plan that the Partnership can implement in the coming years.
1.1 Background and context
Poole and Bournemouth is one of nine Destination Management areas across the South
West region. Within these nine areas there have been different approaches to
developing co-ordinated Destination Management partnerships or organisations, and
they are at different stages of development.
In Poole and Bournemouth, the Poole and Bournemouth Destination Management
Partnership was formed in June 2006. The Partnership is a ‘virtual’ one and was formed
through the Bournemouth and Poole Tourism Offices’ Tourism Management Boards. The
Partnership Co-ordinating Group is made up of 3 representatives of each Management
Board, plus respective Tourism Officers.
The emphasis of the Partnership is to maximise and exploit joint working opportunities
both where it is more efficient to do so and where it benefits the visitor to the
conurbation, whilst at the same time maintaining the individual brand identities and
competitiveness of Poole and Bournemouth.
The Co-ordinating Group has agreed a set of strategic areas for the Partnership. These
include:
Raising the quality of the offer
Co-ordinating investment
Improving accessibility
Sustainability
Strategic marketing /improving market intelligence
Strategic partnership development
Community involvement
1
1.2 Terms of reference and approach
Specific objectives of this study were to:
1. Review the tourism and economic strategies/service plans of Poole and
Bournemouth.
2. Undertake a destination audit
3. Conduct market intelligence work related to market composition, perceived
product strengths and weaknesses, brand awareness of Bournemouth & Poole,
influences on the target segments’ decision to visit and competitor analysis
4. Develop a SWOT
5. Develop a Strategic Framework and Action Plan, including outline costs and
potential funding and an assessment of potential risks.
The following study was based on information derived from:
A review of key policy documents
Desk research on the destination – its offer, relative performance and markets
Focus group research among visitors and non-visitors
A small number of stakeholder interviews
A review of national market data
A sustainable tourism workshop held in Bournemouth in September 2007
2
Position Analysis
3
2. Overview of tourism in Poole and Bournemouth
2.1 Volume and value of tourism
Tourism in Bournemouth and Poole generates approximately £612m of direct visitor
expenditure. This supports (directly and indirectly) an estimated 17,500 jobs (about
12,700 in Bournemouth and 4800 in Poole).
The following table highlights the volume and value of tourism to Bournemouth and
Poole. This is broken down by the main purpose (holiday etc), main market group
(domestic overseas etc) and by destination. Figures are shown in terms of trips, nights
and spend as absolutes and percentages.
Volume and Value of tourism in Bournemouth and Poole
Trips Nights Spend
‘000 % ‘000 % £m %
Overall total 7004 100 6523 100 612.4 100
By main market group..
Domestic (staying) 1518 22 5149 79 316.3 52
Overseas (staying) 160 2 1374 21 69.3 11
Day trips 5326 76 226.8 37
By purpose ...
Holiday (staying) 1201 17 4613 71 272.5 44
Business (staying) 207 3 619 9 56.6 9
VFR (staying) 236 3 929 14 36 6
Other (staying) 16 0 103 2 12.8 2
Study (staying) 24 0 276 4 8.5 1
Total staying 1678 24 6523 100 385.6 63
Day trips 5326 76 226.8 37
By destination..
Bournemouth 4308 62 4572 70 426.1 70
Poole 2696 38 1951 30 186.3 30
Notes: Data relates to 2005. Source: Cambridge Model / SWT
Key points in relation to the volume and value of tourism are:
Nearly 76% of tourism related trips are by day visitors – they account for about 37% of
expenditure.
Domestic staying visitors account for about 22% of trips and 52% of expenditure
(making them the most important group).
4
Overseas visitors, while numerically unimportant in terms of trips (only 2%) account for
a disproportionate number of nights and spend (about 11% of overall tourism spend –
reflecting their long average stay of 10.5 nights - compared to 3.6 nights for domestic
visitors).
Bournemouth accounts for 70% of all tourism expenditure. It accounts for a higher
proportion (76%) of staying visitor expenditure.
Poole accounts for a relatively higher proportion of trips than expenditure (38% of all
trips compared to 30% of expenditure) reflecting its lower numbers of staying visitors,
and a lower average spend by staying visitors (reflecting the greater relative
importance of caravan and friends / relatives in its accommodation mix).
In terms of purpose, the primary group is holidaymakers – they account for 44% of
expenditure. The next largest group (aside from day visitors) is business visitors.
It should be noted that statistics relating to the volume and value of tourism to
Bournemouth and Poole do vary according to source. For example, in relation to the
education market information collated by the English UK Office highlights that the market
generates 36,000 trips, 1.3million bednights and an overall spend of £130m. In relation
to the conference and exhibitions market data from the Bournemouth International
Conference Centre suggests 353,000 trips, 371,000 nights, generating an estimated spend
of £123.8m.
Explaining the discrepancy in the datasets is not necessarily straightforward. In the case
of the business tourism data there are three factors that help explain the discrepancies:
1. The BIC data includes spending by conference organisers – this is would include
a range of elements and some of this spend would be outside of Bournemouth
and Poole. The SWT data (in the table) only includes spend by delegates once
they are in Bournemouth and Poole.
2. The BIC data includes day visitors. In SWT’s data these are not included in the
business tourism category (which only relates to staying tourism).
3. The method used by the Cambridge Model (on which the SWT figures is based)
for assigning trips across a sub-regional level (in this case Dorset) may sometimes
cause under (or over) estimations at a local level – this can be a problem where
there are specific concentrations of activity in an area in certain market groups –
particularly discretionary business tourism and education markets.
In terms of the education market, there are likely to be similar reasons for the
discrepancy and these include:
1. Different spend definitions – the data from the English UK Office probably includes
all spend (including fees and accommodation). The SWT figures will relate to
spend by visitors once they are in Bournemouth and Poole and would exclude
any pre-paid expenses.
2. See point 3 above.
On this basis the data in the table should be regarded as indicative – it provides an
overview of the relative magnitude of direct visitor spend. However, it is likely that the
5
figures are underestimating the importance of certain market groups – particularly
education and discretionary business tourism markets.
2.2 Bedstock and occupancy
There are approximately 700 accommodation units, accounting for an estimated 35,000
bedspaces in Bournemouth and Poole. Estimated accommodation stock is summarised
in the following table.
Accommodation stock in Bournemouth and Poole
No. of Bedspaces / Bedspaces1 % inspected2 Average
Establishment type establishments units / pitches rating3
Hotel 161 14463 14463 53 2.3
Guesthouse / B&B etc 295 5667 5667 28 3.1
Self catering 224 577 2308 46 -
Touring
Caravans/tents 2 104 416 50 5
Static Vans 2 290 1160 100 5
Holiday Centres 1 1250 5000 100 5
Group
Accommodation 1 67 67
Marinas 6 1502 6008
Total 692 23920 35089
Sources: Data relating to the number of establishments and their size was provided by South West
Tourism (from the analysis on tourism volume and value undertaken in 2005 – see section 2.1). Data
on levels of inspection was provided by Poole and Bournemouth Councils (from their respective
DMSs)
Notes:
1. For self catering, caravans, holiday centres and marinas, 4 bedspaces per unit / pitch
/ berth has been assumed.
2. The percent inspected includes properties in both NQAS and the Bournemouth Quality
Standards Scheme
3. The average rating is an average of stars / diamonds for that category of
accommodation. For this purpose the Bournemouth Inspection Scheme has been
assigned a value of 1.
Key points in relation to accommodation stock are:
Operators are typically relatively small. The guesthouse / B&B sector represents the
largest group of operators (43%), followed by the self-catering sector (32%).
In terms of bedspaces, the hotel sector is the most significant – accounting for 41%.
Other significant sectors (or potential sectors include) marinas (17%), the guesthouse
sector (16%), and Rockley Park (14%).
6
Levels of inspection vary from sector to sector. Half of the hotel sector is inspected
(53%) and about half (46%) of the self-catering sector is – levels of inspection are
much lower in the guesthouse / B&B sector (an estimated 28%). Overall 38% (i.e. 272
properties) of properties are inspected (excluding properties in the Bournemouth
Quality Standards Scheme this equates to 29%) – this compares to 42% (in NAQAS)
across the SW region
Hotels that are inspected tend to be mid range – typically 3 star but also commonly 2
star and the Bournemouth Inspection Scheme. (NB there may be an issue that non-
inspected branded chain hotels would be more likely to be in the 3 to 4 star range).
Guest accommodation was more typically in the 4 star / diamond category and
there were a number of sliver and one gold awarded establishments.
Only four accommodation properties are in the Green Tourism Business Scheme
(GTBS) or David Bellamy Scheme.
The majority of establishments are in Bournemouth (65%) – although bedspaces are
more evenly spread – 56% are in Bournemouth. However this figure should be treated
with some caution – a significant proportion of Poole’s bedspaces are in self-catering
/ caravan / marina type accommodation. These in theory provide significant
bedspaces but in reality tend to operate at relatively low unit / pitch occupancy
(and even lower bedspace occupancy).
There are significant differences between the accommodation stocks of
Bournemouth and Poole:
o Bournemouth is dominated by serviced accommodation (particularly hotels in
terms of bedspaces) with a limited self-catering offer (particularly in terms of
caravan and camping).
o Poole is the opposite with a relatively small serviced sector but significant supply
in self-catering.
o In this respect the two destinations have strong complementarity in their
accommodation offers.
o Levels of inspection are slightly higher in Poole, although this is only noticeably so
in the guesthouse / B&B sector. Hotel accommodation in Poole, while still
typically 3 star, tends more to 4 star than 2 star.
7
The following table summarises key points in relation to hotel occupancy rates.
Hotel Occupancy: Key points
Room Occupancy (Bournemouth) 65%
Bed Occupancy (Bournemouth) 52%
Weekday room occupancy 65%
Busiest month (Bournemouth) August - 82%
Quietest month (Bournemouth) January – 42%
Room occupancy (Poole) 68%
Room occupancy (Dorset) 61%
Source: Dorset Tourism Trends Survey – The Market Research Group 2005
Bournemouth’s room occupancy (at 65%) is about 4% higher than Dorset (61%). Poole is
around 68-69% (albeit this based on a relatively small sample - 5 establishments).
There are significant seasonal variations in Bournemouth’s occupancy (August’s
occupancy is twice January’s).
8
3. Strategic Context
3.1 The Regional Context
Towards 2015 (The Regional Tourism Strategy) was published in January 2005 and sets out
the strategic vision and priorities for the South West region for the next ten years.
The three main strategic aims of ‘Towards 2015’ are:
Driving up Quality - South West England is does not want to become, a ‘cheap’
destination. By driving up quality and the competitiveness of businesses in the region,
the aim is to increase value and respond to the changing demands of existing and
new visitors.
Delivering Truly Sustainable Tourism through meeting the needs of the visitor, industry
and community, within environmental limits.
Creating Superior Destination Management Arrangements - For the strategy to be
effective, the need to rationalise the wide variety of methods and structures involved
in tourism support and promotion was identified. The visitor experience should
ultimately be delivered at ‘destination level’ and it is on this experience that visitors
base their decisions on whether or not they will return.
‘Towards 2015’ proposes the formation of a number of destination management
organisations or partnerships involving, as appropriate, local authorities, the tourism
trade, the host community, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), business support
and training organisations, SWT and SWRDA. Nine DMO/DMP areas have now been
agreed.
The DMO Delivery Plan for ‘Towards 2015’ states that delivering stronger destination
management requires DMOs to ensure (through direct action or identified agents) the
co-ordination of the functions that define the destination, such as:
Strategy and planning/policy (Direct Role)
Representation of interest (Direct Role)
Product development (co-ordination and general/public services/quality)
(Direct/Indirect Role)
Marketing (Direct Role)
Skills/Training (Direct and/or indirect role)
Infrastructure (Indirect/Lobby Role)
Information (Destination Management Systems/TICs) (Direct Role)
Research (Direct/Collaborative Role)
Ensuring true sustainability of the destination and its products (Direct Role)
9
Business support and advice (Indirect Role)
Ensuring coherence/communication between the services and within the industry
(Direct Role)
Quality (Direct Role)
Intra-DMO collaboration and with SWT (Direct Role)
A strong voice (in local and some regional terms - Direct, in some regional and
national terms – Indirect)
3.2 Dorset and the New Forest Partnership
Under the new DMO/DMP structure for the South West, Poole and Bournemouth is
separate from Dorset and from the adjacent area of the New Forest. There has been a
strong relationship between the three areas in recent years through the Dorset and New
Forest Partnership.
The role of the Partnership is:
To enhance the quality of the visitor experience
To improve the viability and performance of tourism enterprises
To develop, promote and champion the Dorset New Forest brand in appropriate
markets.
It seeks to co-ordinate activity between the various players, raise awareness of the
importance of tourism and win the maximum amount of funding for the sub-region.
Established in 1996 the Partnership includes the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and
Poole, the county and district councils of Dorset and the New Forest, the regional tourist
boards - Tourism South East and South West Tourism and the various organisations
supporting business development in the area.
3.3 The Poole Context
The primary policy relating to tourism in Poole is ‘A Tourism Strategy for Poole 2006-15’.
This is set in a context of ‘Towards 2015’, as well as local strategies (Cultural Strategy,
Economic Development Strategy, Local plan etc).
The mission statement is that “Poole aims to maximize the positive contribution tourism
makes to the image, environment, and economic development of Poole. Poole is both
dynamic and sensitive in the management, marketing and development of tourism, so
as to sustain and generate employment opportunities, create confidence for inward
investment, stimulate civic pride and enhance the provision of leisure opportunities
for resident and visitor alike.”
There are four core values / strategic aims:
10
Promoting Wise Growth
Pursuing Quality
Involving the Host Community
Increasing Competitiveness
There are also a number of guiding principles:
Environment – the strategy needs to embrace the concept of visitor management
principles to minimise the impact of tourism and disperse spend.
Host community – residents should be encouraged to support the industry and
recognise it benefits. Similarly businesses that benefit from tourism should be involved
in decision making.
Partnerships – these are core and the most significant is the Poole Tourism Partnership.
Quality – the last decade has seen significant investment in Poole’s hotel and
restaurant sectors. Maintaining quality is of paramount importance – use of national
inspection schemes is an example.
Accessibility – while improvements to the A31 link and A350 are priorities, incentives
need to be found to encourage the visitor to adopt public transport more, and traffic
management solutions need to be found.
Innovation – in marketing and development activity.
Targeted promotion with high legacy value.
Poole’s marketing and brand activity focuses on promotion of a “contemporary life-style
brand”. The current slogan is “Surf, Rest and Play”. Marketing activity will focus on
domestic audiences and continue to utilise a range of techniques – e.g. the Poole
Visitors Guide, and pooletourism.com.
Marketing and event development also places an emphasis on:
Drawing visitors to Poole Quay, where there are more spending opportunities.
Attracting new cruise liner visits
Increasing impact in the shoulder months
Themes like ‘Sheer Indulgence’ and eating out.
3.4 The Bournemouth Context
Bournemouth’s tourism policy context is provided by the Bournemouth Tourism Strategy
(2005 to 2015).
The Vision of this strategy is that “By 2015 Bournemouth will be: Acknowledged as the
UK’s premier resort for leisure, business and educational tourism”.
11
The guiding principles for realising this vision will be:
Environment - protection and enhancement of the resort’s essential character and
appeal – including creating a safe and enjoyable environment
Quality – improvement of the quality of visitor experience across all sectors of the
tourism industry
Value - working to increase total value to the resort not always increasing volume
Brand - managing the investment legacy of the Bournemouth brand to secure a
prosperous tourism industry for the future
Partnership - recognising the multi-faceted nature of the business through integrated
partnership working
Innovation - constantly innovating to maintain competitive advantage for
Bournemouth in both service development and marketing
Bournemouth Tourism produces an annual business plan and agrees strategic priorities
that are considered and approved by the Bournemouth Tourism Management Board
(see section 5.3), which will be also responsible for delivery and monitoring of the
strategy.
4. Market segments
The following section provides an overview of the main market groups (or high level
segments) visiting Poole and Bournemouth – these include:
Meetings and conferences
Non-discretionary business tourism
Education and language schools
Domestic short breaks
Domestic holidaymakers
Visiting friends and relatives
Day visits
12
SEGMENT: Conferences
IMPACT: In overall terms a small volume market (possibly around 1-2% of the
total market and around a third of the overall business tourism
market to B&P) but more important in value terms (possibly around
5% of spend) 1 .
Yield per night is very high – considerably higher than other
segments.
MOTIVATIONS: Meetings and conferences
DESCRIPTION: Key points on B&P’s conference markets:
o The importance of association markets – Bournemouth and
Poole attract a higher proportion of this sector than UK
averages. The predominance of the offer is in Bournemouth
with key venues including the Bournemouth International
Centre and the town is a leading UK conference
destination
o However, in volume terms public sector and corporate
conferences account for a higher relative volume than
associations in B&P.
o Corporate conferences are less important than UK
averages.
o Conference sizes are relatively large in B&P (a function of
the association market) – around 120 delegates cf 53
nationally. The BIC is attracting conferences in excess of
2000 delegates
o The majority of conferences in B&P are overnight (the
opposite to UK averages where most conference/meetings
are day and non-residential). Average length of stay will be
around 2 nights.
COMPETITORS: In association (and public sector) markets: Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Birmingham, Manchester, London, Brighton, Blackpool, Harrogate,
Eastbourne, Liverpool, Cardiff and Torquay.
In corporate markets – as above + other regional cities and
products
PRODUCT
Meeting facilities – dependent on conference size but likely to
REQUIREMENTS
require a main auditorium and breakout facilities plus fringe
venues.
1 Or more – see note on page 5
13
Possibly exhibition space
Serviced accommodation (generally 3 star +)
Banqueting facilities
Evening economy
Partner programmes
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE In the association market, Bournemouth is a mature product in a
DEVELOPMENT competitive market place, which suggests a realistic strategy will
be broadly on market maintenance not significant growth and on
the development of opportunities around smaller conferences.
Growth in the Bournemouth and Poole economies represents an
opportunity for growth in the corporate conference market.
Potential to lead the market with green credentials – ‘sustainable
conferencing’
CONSTRAINTS ON Hotel stock – a relative lack of top end (4 and 5 star)
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT accommodation.
SYNERGIES / CONFLICT Conferences are typically outside the main holiday season, and
WITH OTHER SEGMENTS are midweek – as such, they complement leisure markets well.
Conferences may displace some corporate travel at times.
RESEARCH Priorities include:
REQUIREMENTS
A detailed venue survey looking levels of performance, types
and sizes of events.
Delegate survey – looking at characteristics, spend, secondary
activities, partner programmes etc.
14
SEGMENT: Non discretionary business market
IMPACT: A small volume market (possibly around 2% of the total market) but
more important in value terms (possibly around 4-5% of spend).
Yield per night is high – this market more typically stays in hotel
accommodation. In relative terms a more important market for
Poole.
MOTIVATIONS: Non discretionary – coming for small meeting etc
DESCRIPTION: Corporate travellers will be typically:
Travelling alone
Staying one to two nights
Aged 45+
Staying in hotel accommodation.
COMPETITORS: Limited – a non discretionary market. The destination tends to be a
given and key decisions are likely to be around which hotel stay in.
PRODUCT o Serviced accommodation (generally 3 star +)
REQUIREMENTS o Evening economy
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE The market is liable to grow in line with economic growth and in
DEVELOPMENT totality it is difficult to influence. There may be some potential to
increase spend per night but this is only likely to be achieved
through hotel and restaurant offers.
Develop a greener product and brands as added value offer to
visit.
CONSTRAINTS ON Hotel stock – capacity in top end (4 and 5 star) accommodation
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
SYNERGIES / CONFLICT A non-seasonal, and midweek segment – it complements leisure
WITH OTHER SEGMENTS markets. Helps support certain types of hotel offer that benefits the
conference offer.
RESEARCH Possible research into corporate travellers to look at opportunities
REQUIREMENTS for increased spending and leisure return (but this is probably not a
priority compared to other research requirements).
15
SEGMENT: Education and language school markets
IMPACT: Estimates of the impact of this market vary (see page 4) but in
overall terms it may be worth approximately £130m.
While yield per night is quite low (partly a function of but this is offset
by the generally long average stay, and some of the qualitative
impacts of the market.
MOTIVATIONS: Learning English as a foreign language is the principal motivation
but there has been growth in English for Business, English for
Medicine, and academic tourism degrees. The destination offer
will also be important (nightlife, accommodation, retail etc).
DESCRIPTION: This market is diverse in its origins – it is primarily Europe, but other
important areas include South America, South East Asia, and the
Middle East.
Approximately 75% of the market is under 25, but the “business”
marker (e.g. English for Business) tends to over 25.
The average length of stay is 6.3 weeks for the majority of students
but approximately a third are staying for 3 weeks. Most (92%) are
staying with host families but approximately 8% are in commercial
accommodation (hotels and guesthouses).
There is a slight summer peak – about a third of business is in the
summer period, with remaining two-thirds spread across the rest of
the year.
Bournemouth and Poole have the biggest single number of schools
outside Greater London - there are 20 accredited and 14 non-
accredited schools. Most are in Bournemouth (about 6 schools are
in Poole) but the benefits are felt across both towns (with about
(£90m spend in Bournemouth and £40m in Poole).
COMPETITORS: London, Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, Eastbourne
PRODUCT o Academic reputation, accreditation.
REQUIREMENTS o Good quality residential accommodation for hosting
students
o Location – safe and clean environment, ease and
convenient transport access to schools universities and
colleges.
16
o Good leisure infrastructure – attractions, events, public
amenities (beaches parks) wide range of places to eat and
good evening economy offer.
o Quick and convenient access from local and national
airports, and ferry ports.
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE Expanding the further and higher education offer. More academic
DEVELOPMENT purpose courses with Language schools.
New territories for students – e.g. Turkey has been a recent growth
area.
CONSTRAINTS ON There are some accommodation shortages in summer, creating a
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT constraint for future growth.
SYNERGIES / CONFLICT The market has strong synergies with other market groups (like
WITH OTHER SEGMENTS certain elements of the domestic holiday market – particularly
youth markets – and conference markets) in the sense of sustaining
elements of the offer (particularly evening economy) and adding
to the vibrancy of the town. This sector also put income direct into
local households through payment to host families
RESEARCH Fairly good research base limited additional research required
REQUIREMENTS
17
SEGMENT: Domestic short breaks
IMPACT: Currently a relatively small volume market (possibly around 20% of
the holiday market – about 3% of the total market in terms of
volume).
Yield per night is relatively high (probably higher than the average
holiday visitor) but this is offset by the shorter than average length
of stay.
MOTIVATIONS: Motivations will vary – relaxation will be the prime generic
motivation but this may manifest itself in a number of activities –
events, concerts, shopping, beach, watersports, eating out, visiting
the surrounding area.
The relative importance of these activities will vary from group to
group but within the short break market one activity or attractor is
likely to be of primary importance (cf the longer stay holiday
market).
DESCRIPTION: Characteristics of this group will vary and, while generally reflective
of the broader holiday market, it is likely that the short break market
will be more predominately BC1, adult couples, 50+, from the south
east and south west. Specific groups within the short break market
place will have more distinctive socio-demographic characteristics
– e.g. watersports will be more skewed to younger age groups.
Visiting patterns will not be as seasonally pronounced as the main
holiday market.
COMPETITORS: UK towns and cities (e.g. London, Bath, York, Stratford, Canterbury,
Bristol).
Resorts (e.g. Brighton, Eastbourne, Weymouth, Devon, Cornwall)
Rural destinations (e.g. Devon, Cornwall, Cotswolds)
European cities (by Eurostar, budget airlines)
PRODUCT o Serviced accommodation
REQUIREMENTS o Bars and restaurants
o Shopping
o Attractors – will vary (see motivations above).
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE Reasonable – short breaks are still a buoyant market (although
DEVELOPMENT increasingly competitive) and offer growth potential for B&P.
Development of a greener offer (e.g. through promotion of car free
18
trips/breaks or negotiated deals with rail providers for discounts on
accommodation or attractions) has some potential.
CONSTRAINTS ON Accommodation stock – undifferentiated offer / few boutique
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT /themed experience type hotels and Guest Houses.
Retail offer – reasonable but needs to be more competitive
compared to city destinations and nearby cities (Southampton,
Portsmouth).
Image – not strongly positioned as a short break destination.
SYNERGIES / CONFLICT Generally weekends with a reasonable seasonal spread. Good
WITH OTHER SEGMENTS synergy with most markets although there may be conflict in peak
summer periods with main holiday markets.
RESEARCH o Quantitative research into characteristics, activities and
REQUIREMENTS motivations of current short break visitors
o Qualitative research into their perceptions and motivations.
19
SEGMENT: Domestic holidays
IMPACT: B&P’s most important market in impact terms. Holidays (including
short breaks) account for around 70% of bednights and 40% of total
expenditure.
Yield per night is average but average length of stay is long
(around 6.5 nights)
MOTIVATIONS: As with short breaks motivations will vary – relaxation is the prime
generic motivation but “family beach holiday” is also a key one.
Influential factors in choosing P&B include – clean well presented
town, scenic environment, beach/water activities, shopping, plenty
for adults, and a base for touring.
Holiday visitors will undertake a number of activities. These will
include events, concerts, shopping, beach, watersports, eating out,
visiting the surrounding area.
DESCRIPTION: About half of the holiday market is coming for a main holiday – the
rest are on an additional holiday.
Characteristics of this group vary.
The geographic catchment for visitors is relatively wide – a
nationwide appeal but the core areas are the western Home
Counties and south Midlands.
In terms of socio-economic group, the spread is broad but the
two biggest (and over UK averages for tourism trips) are C1s
and C2s. DEs are a bigger group than ABs.
The over 65s are the biggest group (about a third of the
market).
The 16-34s, 35-54s, and 55-64s (NB a smaller age range) groups
are broadly the same size (all around 20% of visitors).
Children account for about 10% of the market.
In terms of group composition, the largest markets are adults
(couples or adult groups – STB’s research indicates this 80% of
the market). Families represent about 12% of holiday visitors. A
number of broad holiday market segments (based primarily on
lifestage) can be identified – these include:
o Independent seniors – key characteristics are: over 60;
travelling in couples; high level of repeat visiting; SEG varies
but mainly C; staying in hotels. Probably the largest holiday
20
o Organised seniors – similar in their characteristics to the
independent seniors but travelling in organised groups
(often coaches). A medium sized holiday segment.
o Empty nesters - key characteristics are: 45 – 60; couples; B /
C1/C2; accommodation varies. A medium sized holiday
segment.
o Families – key characteristics are: aged 25 – 45/50; C1/C2
but also DE; Families with school age children (mainly
primary but reasonable proportions of secondary); may be
travelling as extended families or multiple family groups;
main summer season. A medium sized holiday segment.
o Pre school families – key characteristics are: aged 25-35;
Pre school children; Predominately C1C2; staying in self
catering / holiday. A smaller holiday segment.
COMPETITORS: Resorts (e.g. Brighton, Eastbourne, Weymouth, Devon, Cornwall)
Rural destinations (e.g. Devon, Cornwall, Cotswolds, Cumbria)
Overseas coastal destinations
PRODUCT This is a wide market and product requirements will reflect this. The
REQUIREMENTS holiday market needs a range of types and budgets of
accommodation.
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE Realistically the aspiration should be on retention of market share.
DEVELOPMENT This will however require the acquisition of new markets, probably
with different aspirations and product requirements to some current
holiday markets.
CONSTRAINTS ON Constraints are probably more about limited growth in long stay
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT holiday markets and as they are about the product offer and
destination positioning.
SYNERGIES / CONFLICT Relatively seasonal market coming week round. May conflict with
WITH OTHER SEGMENTS other segments in terms of potential capacity (e.g. short breaks
during peak periods) or mix (e.g. conferences and business visitors –
the two sectors have different needs /requirements).
RESEARCH Research to identify barriers and opportunities for new market
REQUIREMENTS acquisition to include more segmentation of the new markets.
21
SEGMENT: Visiting friends and relatives (VFR)
IMPACT: VFR accounts for approximately 3% of overall trips but about 14% of
nights.
They are a moderate spending group – spending considerably
more per trip than day visitors but less per trip than staying holiday,
business visitors, and education markets. Overall they account for
about 6% of total spend. It should also be noted that VFR trips do
stimulate spend among their hosts (often to the same or greater
level than the visitor themselves).
MOTIVATIONS: Although the primary motivation is visiting friends and relatives,
there is often a strong leisure element, particularly among the
visiting friends market. The extent of the leisure influence in decision
making will vary but, in some cases, the VFR strongly overlaps with
holiday markets.
DESCRIPTION: Characteristics vary significantly for this group – it covers a broad
spectrum of the population.
In general terms, the visiting friends market is more liable to be
under 35 – the visiting family is more skewed to older age groups.
Accommodation used will tend to be a friend or relative’s house
but there will also be some use of commercial accommodation
among this group.
COMPETITORS: No specific competitors – this is largely (although entirely) a non-
discretionary market.
PRODUCT Similar to day visitor and holiday markets, but it may be hosts that
REQUIREMENTS source information and make decisions on activities.
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE Liable to be in line with broader economic and population
DEVELOPMENT (including students) growth.
CONSTRAINTS ON None
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
SYNERGIES / CONFLICT Conflicts are limited – particularly in terms of demand / capacity
WITH OTHER SEGMENTS issues around accommodation.
The group has synergy with most other market segments
(particularly holiday and day visitors) in terms of usage (and
support for) similar facilities (e.g. events, restaurants, retail).
22
SEGMENT: Day visitors
IMPACT: The largest group in volume terms and the second largest in terms
of value.
Yield per trip is low.
MOTIVATIONS: Varied – activities will include an event, concert, meal or night out,
attraction, shopping, beach, watersports, etc
DESCRIPTION: The characteristics and make up of this market will vary enormously.
The primary characteristic will be origin, which is generally an hour
to hour and a half.
COMPETITORS: Competition will vary depending on the motivation / experience
but will include surrounding destinations – e.g. Southampton,
Portsmouth, Weymouth, Winchester, Salisbury, London, New Forest
etc.
PRODUCT Varied depending on activity and motivation but generic ones
REQUIREMENTS include:
Parking
Places to eat
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE Strategically there will be potential for modest growth in the day
DEVELOPMENT visitor market (possibly 1% per annum). Tactically opportunities exist
to increase visitors for particular activities – e.g. watersports, events
etc.
Encouraging green travel to include integrated low cost options
with rail and bus operators will be a future priority.
CONSTRAINTS ON Capacity in transport infrastructure and parking at certain times of
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT year.
SYNERGIES / CONFLICT Day visitors are a fundamental group that to help support facilities
WITH OTHER SEGMENTS and activities (such as attractions, speciality retail, restaurants, etc)
that in turn are an attractor for staying visits.
However, volume of day visitors can, at certain times, create
pressures and conflicts.
RESEARCH Research into certain day visitor groups, segmented by activities
REQUIREMENTS and motivations, which support a wider marketing strategy. For
example, watersports, events.
23
5. The Destination – product and services
5.1 The tourism product
The sea and associated products (beaches and water sports) are a key defining element
of the appeal of Bournemouth and Poole, particularly for longer stay visitors. However
they are not the only element and other attractors are as important, or more important
for certain groups.
This section outlines the core elements of Bournemouth and Poole’s tourism product:
Beaches are a prime asset for Poole and Bournemouth. Beaches in the destinations
benefit from positive management and eight beach areas along the Bournemouth and
Poole coast have Blue Flag status. Visitor research confirms the importance of the
beaches for visitors. For example, in Bournemouth 71% of staying visitors had gone to the
beach (and 35% planned to)
In Bournemouth, main beach user groups are families and couples (typically older). This
contrasts slightly with the overall visitor appeal which is more typically couples / adults
with no children. Beaches and water based activities were an influential factor on the
decision to visit for three fifths of staying visitors (60%).
Attractions Poole and Bournemouth have approximately 20 attractions covering a range
of themes. These include heritage and culture, museums, gardens and recreational
pursuits, boat tours and “family fun” (probably the principle category).
The majority of these attractions 2 are attracting in the region of a 100,000 visitors (i.e.
medium sized attractions), with a couple (the Poole Pottery Factory Outlet Shop, Tower
Park and Oceanarium) attracting in excess of 250k visits – i.e. large attractions.
Conferences
There are a significant number of conference and meeting venues in Bournemouth and
Poole (www.venuefinder.com lists over 50 of which 34 are members of the Bournemouth
International Conference Bureau, which also has hotels from Poole and the New Forest.).
Venues are primarily hotels but do include the Bournemouth International Centre, which
is the area’s regions principal venue and one of the leading purpose built conference
centres in the UK. It has capacity for approximately 4000 delegates and 4 major arenas.
Core markets are national association conferences, with linked trade exhibitions and
banqueting.
2 NB this is based on relatively dated 2002 data
24
While the majority of venues are located in Bournemouth there are active conference
venues in Poole, and conferences (including Bournemouth based ones) do provide
significant benefits for accommodation operators in Poole.
Water based activities
Bournemouth and Poole offers a significant range of water based activities and this
represents a core strength of the two destinations. There is a good infrastructure of
operators / schools / facilities – notably:
Surfing – generally in Bournemouth, particularly with the development of the artificial
reef at Boscombe Pier. Related operators include Bournemouth Surf School,
Wavefreaks – Kidz Surf Camp.
Sailing and Powerboating/Jetskiing – Poole / Bournemouth. There are a number of
operators (e.g. Poole Sailing Ltd, Adrenalin Days, Superhawk Marine Ltd, Spinnaker
Yachts), seven sailing clubs in Poole, and a boat haven for visiting yachts on Poole
Quay.
Wind and kite surfing – Poole, including events (the Animal Poole Windfest), and a
number of operators / schools (FCwatersports, Surface2air sports, Rockley
Watersports, Poole Harbour Watersports).
Sea Kayaking – Bournemouth and Poole operators include Kayaking, FC Watersports
Academy
Diving - e.g. Aquatic Scuba Diving
Angling - Poole – e.g. Poole Sea Angling Centre
Estimating the relative importance of water based activities in the overall tourism mix is
difficult and, it is an area that would benefit from further research. Whatever the numeric
size of these markets (and they are likely to be quite small in tourism terms), they do have
huge potential value in positioning and branding Bournemouth and Poole.
Other outdoor activities
Other activities include
Golf – there are over 12 golf courses within a 30 minute drive of Bournemouth/Poole.
Bowling - there are approximately 15 bowling sites in a 30 minute drive of
Bournemouth.
Adventure activities include Challenge Leisure (paintballing, clay pigeon shooting,
quadbiking), Go Ape (high wire adventure activity) Serious Action Sports (archery,
clay pigeon shooting), and Bournemouth Helicopters. There are a number of
operators in the vicinity of Bournemouth and Poole offering paintball, quadbiking,
4x4, mountain biking etc.
25
Events
Both Bournemouth and Poole have strong and established annual event programmes
covering a range of different themes.
Key ones in Poole include: Summer Breeze with Fireworks (14 weeks), Coles Miller Dream
Machines (26 weeks), Rockley Park Quay for my Car (18 weeks), BSO Proms in the Park,
Animal Poole Windfest, Poole Afloat, and up to 100 sailing events in the harbour/Poole
Bay.
Key ones in Bournemouth include: Summer Kids Free Fun Festival, BSO in the Park,
Bournemouth Air Festival, Bournemouth Literary Festival, Bourne Free Pride Festival,
Bournemouth Open Bowls Tournament.
Language Schools, Higher and Further Educational Institutions.
Language schools are a significant, but specialist part, of Bournemouth’s offer. It is the
largest centre for learning English in Britain outside of London – there are over 30
“permanent” language schools operating in the area (most of which are in
Bournemouth). In addition to this there are a number of “summer schools” which usually
operate during the months of June, July and August. An important growing market is
overseas students attending the FE and HE institutions. This market accounts for 2000
students per year who attend Bournemouth University, The Arts Institute and Bournemouth
and Poole College.
Live Entertainment
There are a number of venues in Bournemouth and Poole for live entertainment– these
include:
Bournemouth International Centre and Pavilion theatre – attracting headline acts like
Ricky Gervais, Russell Brand, McFly, Manic Street Preachers, and a range of popularist
acts.
The Opera House, Bournemouth – headline music acts including Isaac Hayes,
Alabama 3, Sly and the Family Stone.
The Pier Theatre – 2007 acts include the Magic of Queen, Freddie Starr, Summer
Spectacular
The Lighthouse, Poole – a major arts centre (the South’s largest Arts venue outside of
London). It is home to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Brownsea Open Air Theatre – open air Shakespearean theatre
AFC Bournemouth - football, banqueting, occasional live music
Others – including Alexander Studio Theatre, Funnybone Comedy Club, Poole
stadium (includes greyhounds and speedway), Mr Kyps (live music) and also Canford
Arena at Canford Magna (which can accommodate up to 40,000 people).
26
Retail, eating and evening economy
Retail, eating out and the evening economy can play different roles for visitors. In
general terms they are a fundamental part of a destination role and play an important
supporting role – eating out and shopping are primary activities and areas of
expenditure for most visitors and will have a bearing on levels of satisfaction. For some
visitors (particularly short break markets), these elements are more of a motivation to visit.
In terms of retail, Bournemouth and Poole have a reasonable offer that reflects their
resident populations and importance in a wider Dorset context. They are (Bournemouth
in particular) well represented in terms of most high street brands, as well as some
department stores such as Beales). These are also supported by more boutique shopping
in Westbourne, and out-of-town shopping at Castlepoint.
While the retail offer is reasonable and will form part of the visitor experience, it is unlikely
to be competitive enough to provide the sole motivation to visit for staying visitors.
In terms of eating out, both Poole and Bournemouth offer a wide range and style of
eateries – Lebanese, Italian, Thai, Greek, French, seafood etc. – with a number of quality
restaurants. In Bournemouth and Poole, this forms an important element of the product.
Poole has a particularly strong eating out product especially fresh fish and seafood, with
5 AA rosette awarded restaurants. It is seen as a core element of the destination’s offer
and is featured very prominently in its marketing and promotional activity.
In terms of bars and clubs, Bournemouth in particularly is reasonably well served by a
range of bars and clubs – partly a reflection of its student population and language
schools.
Surrounding area
The surrounding area is a key element of the appeal of Bournemouth and Poole
(particularly for longer stay visitors) – the relationship is a two way one. The surrounding
area adds additional product themes and depth for visitors staying in Bournemouth and
Poole. In addition, Bournemouth and Poole offer a destination / day out for visitors
staying in the surrounding area.
Significant tourism destinations within the immediate area of Bournemouth and Poole
include the New Forest, the Jurassic Coast, rural Dorset, towns and cities (e.g. Salisbury,
Portsmouth, Southampton, Winchester), Jersey and Guernsey, and attractions (e.g.
Beaulieu, Monkey World, Bovington Tank Museum and Paulton’s Park).
5.2 Accessibility and public realm
Accessibility and transport
27
In broad terms, Bournemouth and Poole are well connected, with:
An international airport serving a variety of domestic and European destinations, as
well as further destinations served by Southampton Airport.
Direct ferry services to the Channel Islands, Cherbourg and St. Malo (and routes from
Portsmouth to Brittany and Bilbao).
Direct train links and a regular service to London and the Midlands
Regular coach services to London Victoria, Heathrow and Gatwick, and direct
services to the West and Midlands (and north).
Continuous motorway (M3) or dual carriageway access from London.
Coach parking at Kings Park and Queens Road car parks in Bournemouth (plus four
other drop off points), and Seldown Bridge Coach and Car Park and Poole Stadium
(as well as drop off points on Poole Quay).
Car parking is provided by 39 car parks in Poole and 25 in Bournemouth. These car
parks have 7,088 spaces in Poole (with 166 spaces for disabled use) and 4,856 (with
82 spaces for disabled use) in Bournemouth. Visitor research (the Bournemouth Visitor
Survey 2006 - Bournemouth University) suggests that visitors consider the availability of
car parking in Bournemouth (there is no comparable data for Poole) to be good.
However there are some accessibility and transport issues – including:
Poor road and rail links to Bristol and the west.
Car parking charges - the Bournemouth Visitor Survey 2006 highlights that visitors
rated cost of parking as average (although most surveys highlight parking costs as
average).
The Bournemouth Travel Interchange. This site is poorly designed and suffers from a
lack of a natural exit for the first time visitor. It feels hemmed in by overpasses and
large buildings. Signing is poor – both from the travel interchange to town, but also
from the station to buses, (with the bus stop squeezed into a corner of the overall
site).
Taxis - an issue is about taxi drivers doing more to promote a positive image of the
towns to people who visit and use the Taxis. Poole, for example, has developed an
initiative where the largest taxi company has introduced a visitors charter that gives a
warm welcome to all visitors to the town, talks up the town and gives a
complimentary copy of Poole Visitor Guide to each visitor. In Bournemouth, the
delivery of welcome host training to drivers is also being planned - future plans are
developing further the use of taxis as tourist information providers with guides, maps
and other resort information.
Bournemouth and Poole Borough Councils are committed to improving safer and
accessible routes for cyclists. Over the years the Boroughs have increased the
number of cycleways through Parks, the seafront and urban areas. As part of the Big
Lottery Money, the SUSTRANS bid includes the proposal for a dedicated bridge across
28
Tourism Signage and related highway signage needs reviewing – there is a lack both
of welcome signs to the town, and clear consistent signage to attractions and car
parks.
Public transport links to Bournemouth beach – rated in the 2005 beach survey as
average (13% felt it was poor). However more importantly is the need for better
pedestrian signage to and from the town centre - not just to the seafront but also
shopping areas, parks, attractions etc. (see below).
Public realm and signing
Quality of the public realm is of key importance – it is something experienced by every
visitor (repeat or first time). Signing, orientation and information is also a key element of
destination management – while of particular importance for orientating visitors
unfamiliar with the destination, it is a tool in helping to manage and spread visitor flows.
In Bournemouth the town centre and seafront have different styles. The town furniture
has a more traditional look in a dark green. The seafront is styled in a more modern style
in blue and yellow, and is benefiting from recent investment in the pier, signing etc
Assessing the standard of the public realm comprehensively is not necessarily an easy
process – standards can be subjective, and vary from location to location, and at
different time periods. The following paragraphs provide an overview from our own
snapshot, qualitative assessment, combined with available visitor research.
Our qualitative assessment of Bournemouth’s public realm is that it is generally of a good
(but not necessarily exceptional) standard. The provision and supply of seating, toilet
facilities and signing is generally adequate (but see below). Cleanliness is generally
good, with a lot of litter bins (particularly in seafront areas), and maintenance of the
public realm is generally good but is not exceptional.
This is largely supported by the available evidence from visitor research. For example,
the Bournemouth Visitor Survey (MRG – 2006) highlights that a number of factors why
Bournemouth met visitor expectations – these included:
Quality of accommodation
Shops
Places to eat
Places to visit
Cleanliness of the beaches
29
In addition, the 2005 Beach Survey (conducted by Bournemouth University) highlighted
average to good scores for a number of facilities – e.g. Cleanliness of beach and
seafront area, provision of litter bins, safety and security and provision of beach furniture.
However there are some elements that, in our view, could be improved - these include:
Maintenance – in the town centre, railings and seating would benefit from a coat of
paint. Similarly elements of the seafront would benefit from being refreshed – e.g.
railings (pier), shelters, signs on the pavement/road, and particularly the beach
chalets.
Pedestrian signing – orientation around Bournemouth is relatively easier in the sense it
is compact with well-marked features (the sea front, Central Gardens and Square).
However signing in the town is mixed – there are a plethora of different sign styles (we
found at least 5 different styles of tourism related signs – excluding normal road signs)
and maintenance of these could be improved (some were pointing the wrong way).
Some of the generic signs for hotels are meaningless. Connectivity between different
areas is not necessarily maximised – this is particularly the case from the seafront to
town centre, which feel like completely different destinations – signing from the
seafront to town is minimal. The connectivity between the town centre and transport
interchange, and town centre and principle accommodation areas (e.g. west / east
cliffs) could possibly be improved.
Road signing is generally fine but would benefit from some maintenance.
In addition, visitor research (albeit the 2002 STB Visitor Survey) did highlight (unprompted)
some areas of dissatisfaction with the public realm – e.g. -
Litter and bins overflowing (about 0.5%)
A lack of seating on pier (about 1%)
Similarly the 2005 Beach survey highlighted that visitors rated a number of aspects of
provision as average. For example, toilets (particularly in terms of cleanliness and
standard of building maintenance), provision of dog bins and the pier.
Poole’s public realm is also, from our qualitative assessment, generally good. The town
centre and quayside have traditional style black and gold cast iron furniture. Pedestrian
signs are more modern (white on black) – there is good provision of these, with good
continuity. The street furniture and pedestrian signs are complemented by black and
gold “welcome signs” that include a town map and events information. Maintenance
and provision of these is good.
Elements that could be improved include:
Cleanliness / maintenance of the town – this is looking tired in places and while not
creating a negative impression does not create a positive one.
30
Possibly a stronger white on brown scheme – e.g. signs for the Quayside are
functional but might benefit from a stronger presence. Similar beach signing could
benefit from some continuity signs.
Visitor research is more limited in Poole with a beach visitor survey last undertaken in
2002. This highlights that satisfaction was generally good in terms of availability of public
toilets and the provision of seating, average to good in relation to cleanliness of toilets,
signing and information provision. Satisfaction with beach front lighting was low.
5.3 Tourism support infrastructure
Tourism related services are primarily delivered through the respective councils of
Bournemouth and Poole but through a variety of different departments / service units –
e.g. tourism, economic development, transport and planning, and leisure.
Each town has a Tourism Management Board – these are formal bodies with constitutions
and elected representatives from Tourism Trade and Local Authorities. They have a
number of terms of reference including:
Strengthening public sector/private sector partnership
Seeking and generating funding to match and complement the Council’s
investment in tourism.
Producing guidance and influence on marketing, research, visitor management, skills
and training initiatives
Acting as a consultation/discussion forum on tourism issues
Developing a shared Tourism Strategy
Providing a unified voice for the industry on local, regional and national tourism issues
In June 2006 Bournemouth and Poole Tourism Offices, through their respective Tourism
Management Boards, formed the Bournemouth and Poole Joint Co-ordinating Group
(BPJCG). This is an Unincorporated Association made up of 3 representatives of each
Management Board, plus respective Tourism Officers. All decisions of the Group are
ratified through the separate Management Boards.
This group is a partnership – it has no dedicated budget, employees or executive
responsibilities. Its approach tends to be that of a steering group with initiatives
undertaken on a collaborative basis and delivered through either or both depending on
competencies of the tourism offices.
31
6. SWOT and Challenges
6.1 SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Established tourism reputation and infrastructure
High quality of beaches and beach management, and generally good standard of
public realm
Quality environment and product: resort towns plus seafront, Harbour, nearby
attractions of New Forest and Dorset
A significant population (London/SE, Midlands) within a short break and holiday
catchment
A loyal core market
Commitment to managing different needs of markets – e.g. Quality Nights Initiative,
Townwatch and Pubsafe
Strong products in some areas: watersports, conferences, language schools, nightlife,
and a solid offer in others – restaurants, live entertainment and town centres (good
environments) and retail
Recent and planned developments e.g. the new Surf Reef, and Poole Park Leisure
investments
Diversity of discretionary markets – leisure, business (Bournemouth) and educational /
foreign language (Bournemouth)
A mix of market segments that brings year round business, albeit with a summer
season peak
Complementarity of accommodation stock between the two areas
Strong financial commitment from both local authorities to tourism, and a good track
record in partnership development.
Weaknesses
Leisure marketing activity is broad brush in its approach, and marketing messages are
not necessarily matched to targeted visitor groups
There is a lack of strong differentiators (compelling attractions) and product diversity
in comparison to competitors – e.g. Devon and Cornwall
Lack of attractors for future markets, particularly non family
Connectivity between Bournemouth and Poole is poor
Lack of joint information infrastructureLimited green business/tourism offer
32
Transport into and out of the destination from the West, particularly in terms of rail, is
poor.
Opportunities
Attract / influence larger funding opportunities through working together as a
conurbation or via Local Strategic partnerships and Local/Multi Area Agreements
Increased joint working and cost-effectiveness from joint working
Niche / special interest market development, e.g. watersports, TEFL, and short break
development
Increasing yields and quality rather than volume of tourism
Working more closely with the surrounding area to deepen the offer especially for
long stay visitors – Dorset and the New Forest, and possibly Guernsey / Jersey
Major events development, including assessing potential opportunities arising from
2012 Olympics
Development and repositioning of the brand for the conurbation to build fresh
awareness
Expansion of Bournemouth Airport and new low cost routes.
Stronger focus on sustainability, especially environmental and commercial
Stronger relationships and cross-working with public transport providers
Threats
Short-term and tactical thinking
Failure to differentiate Poole and Bournemouth from competitor destinations and
market on a targeted basis
Over-reliance on older demographic groups and failing to replace lost markets and
markets that are ageing
Failing to make the transition from a mass market to targeted marketing approach
Lack of match between the nature and quality of the accommodation stock and
the requirements of future markets
Problems of destination management - e.g. avoiding potential conflicts / tensions
such as nightlife versus family friendly
Increased competition, particularly in short break markets from alternative products
and destinations (e.g. UK city breaks and short haul destinations opened up by low-
cost airlines)
Ensuring a well trained labour force
Reductions in Local Authority budgets each year.
33
6.2 Key challenges
Arising from the SWOT analysis, a number of challenges can be identified for
Bournemouth and Poole. These are:
Diversifying the market – the reliance older demographic groups and the potential
failure to replace lost markets and markets that are ageing is a real threat. While
these have been offset to some extent by the development of conference and
education / language school markets, there is still a need to further diversify the
market. This will require attracting new market groups, which may have different
motivations and activities, aspirations and values, and demographic characteristics
to current markets. It will also require a carefully targeted approach – the challenge
of moving from a solely ‘mass’ market focus to a number of heterogeneous markets
will be a significant one.
New products and positioning – diversifying the market may also require further
product development (continuing the process that has included development of the
BIC, language schools and, latterly, the surf reef). Allied to this some re-positioning of
the brand may be required.
Quality of the offer – it would be fair to say that, while the quality of Bournemouth and
Poole’s overall offer is good in places (e.g. environmental quality and management),
it is average in others – e.g. accommodation where take up of NAQAS (admittedly
only one indicator) is relatively low. Bringing the standard of the overall offer up will
be a necessary pre-cursor to creating a more competitive destination. While
progress has already begun it will be a significant future challenge.
Ensuring sustainability – sustaining the tourism industry in Bournemouth and Poole will
be a key medium to long challenge. Within this overarching challenge there will be
a number of separate issues to address such as:
Ensuring the support of the host community (currently ‘tourism friendly’ [to
be discussed])
Economic sustainability through year round, high yield business
Ensuring the industry is able to attract an appropriate labour force
Environmental sustainability and making the transition to a greener
industry.
Support infrastructure – in an atmosphere of increasingly constrained public
resources, ensuring that the tourism support infrastructure (in terms of marketing and
promotion, information provision, destination management, events programming
etc) is delivering added value will be a major challenge. A key priority is achieving
economies of scale and/or scope, and maximising opportunities through partnership.
34
The Strategic Framework
35
7. Overview
7.1 Strategic Priorities
Reflecting the challenges facing Poole and Bournemouth, three principal strategic
priorities (or areas for action) can be identified:
Attracting – targeted marketing and development initiatives
Welcoming – quality of delivery through the customer journey from planning, booking
through to the actual visit
Sustaining - ensuring a green and balanced industry.
These areas often overlap and influence each other – they should not be regarded as
separate agendas. Underpinning these are two further areas for action that, while not
outputs in their own right, will be necessary to the successful delivery of the strategic
priorities. These are:
Partnership – ensuring the most appropriate delivery structures are in place
Intelligence – having the necessary research and intelligence base for effective
decision making
These strategic priorities can be summarised in the following diagram.
Attracting Welcoming
Marketing and
development initiatives
Quality of experience
Partnership and
Intelligence
Sustaining
A balanced industry
36
7.2 The Market Development Strategy
Central to the development of these strategic priorities should lie a coherent market
development strategy.
An appreciation of the market mix both now, and the desired future mix, is fundamental
to driving all aspects of a strategy – not just marketing and promotional activity but also
product development, visitor management and quality of experience, and sustainability.
Key principles that should drive the market development strategy include:
Ensuring, as far as possible, all year round business
Ensuring, as far as possible, synergy between market groups
Focusing on yield rather than volume
Ensuring there is a very clear ‘route to market’ for selected segments– i.e. cost-effective
means of accessing well-defined groups
Working in markets where there is competitive strength and advantage
Balancing growing new markets with maintaining existing ones.
The following table summarises, in broad terms, the main market groups and their
developmental priorities and timing of their visits.
Market segment Developmental priority Timing
Conference Development – short to Predominantly mid-week (but
(association and medium term with weekend add-on potential
corporate markets) for associations) autumn and
spring
Language school / Maintain market share Year round with increased
educational markets numbers in summer (week
round)
Domestic holiday Market maintenance Predominantly in summer and
makers shoulder months (week round)
Domestic short breaks Development – short to Predominantly weekend spring,
/ water sports medium term summer and autumn
Day visits Market maintenance Year round – peaking at
weekends / school holidays
VFR Market maintenance Year round – bias to weekends
Business travel Market maintenance Year round – midweek
The potential for each may be summarised as follows:
37
There is significant growth potential relating to short breaks and water sports, which
have the potential for high yield. There is also growth potential for corporate
conferences and meetings.
In the association conference market, the overall market is not likely to grow
significantly – indeed, it may well decline over time – and Bournemouth will need to
continue to acquire new business to maintain its exiting volume of business in this
sector. The market is competitive and daily yield per domestic delegate tends to be
low; maintaining market size and value is the first requirement.
The domestic holiday market represents a major challenge, because of the
anticipated long term decline of the current market. Thus the requirement is to
identify how the traditional holiday market segments may be supplemented or
replaced by new domestic holiday market segments.
Language schools and education markets – there are opportunities to expand the FE
and HE courses and industry linked to language courses, but this must be carefully
managed to ensure sufficiently good quality accommodation can be offered to
students at the same current high level.
Given the scale and value of day visits to the areas, this business should also be
nurtured, but recognising that there are issues relating to yield and sustainability (both
economic and environmental).
For non-discretionary markets (business and VFR) growth is likely to be driven by
broader economic factors. Priorities will be on ensuring the quality of product offer is
right.
Within each of these broad groups, there is a need to identify which more specific
market segments have the greatest potential for Bournemouth and Poole and to
understand well the requirements of each target segment. This should be a key part of
the work programme of the new DMP, with support from SWT.
38
8. Strategic Priority 1: Attracting
This section covers:
Brand
Positioning
Promotion
Product development
Quality of the offer/product
8.1 Vision and rationale
The strategic priority of attracting is a broad one – at its core is the need to provide the
right attractors and promote these to the appropriate audience.
In the case of Bournemouth and Poole, decline or limited growth potential in its main
traditional markets has created the necessity not to only find new visitors but also to
develop new reasons to visit.
The aspiration is of a destination that is:
Targeting a healthy mix of market groups (see section 7.2)
Positioned and offering a brand (or brands) that has real resonance with target
audiences
Bringing new products on stream to not only attract new visitors but increase
competitiveness
Driving up the quality of the offer.
8.2 Development approaches
Within the overall mix of attracting visitors there are various discrete elements that when
taken together provide the stimulus to visit. These will all require developmental activity
in the medium to long term – this section discusses some of the key priorities and options.
Branding and positioning
Focus group research, undertaken during the development of this strategic framework,
suggests that the positioning of Bournemouth and Poole appear to be lacking in clarity
and sometimes in conflict with the reality. Different segments have different perceptions
and there were some negative perceptions that the offer lacked depth (or was too one
dimensional) and not necessarily ‘premier league’. While there are a lot of strengths
and positives to the images of Bournemouth and Poole, it is likely that the brand (or
brands) for the area will require further development and positioning.
39
The scale and difficulty of this should not be underestimated – brands take years
(decades even) and resources to develop or to change. Complicating this is the fact
that different market segments have different images and values of a destination, and, in
the case of Bournemouth and Poole that they are different destinations.
Further work is therefore required to define the Bournemouth and Poole brands and the
ways in which they should be developed. Brands (including business and education
tourism brands) should capture the essence of what Poole and Bournemouth should
promise to its diverse markets. This is not straightforward, in terms of appealing to market
segments with very different motivations and requirements.
It may be appropriate to build a brand architecture identifying different brand promises
for different segments, relating to one overall set of brand values (at least in terms of
leisure markets). The brand architecture will have a synergy with regional branding and
the ‘brand clusters’ developed by SWT.
In terms of developing any brands and positioning to attract new visitors, the priority
should be to appeal first and foremost to short break markets (which require further
research – see section 12); this group of market segments has the best growth potential.
A strong well differentiated positioning and brand(s) for contemporary short breaks
would also have potential to secure business tourism markets, educational markets, and
certain new holiday markets (particularly additional / second holidays).
Promotional activity
Bournemouth and Poole both undertake their own promotional campaigns and there is
merit in these continuing in the short to medium term future – particularly in their existing
and core markets (leisure, education and business ones). However, any future
promotional activity should be shaped by the development of a brand architecture for
the area (see above).
Irrespective of the direction a brand architecture takes (e.g. separate Poole and
Bournemouth brands), there is merit in progressing promotional activity that targets new
audiences on a joint basis. New market acquisition is typically more costly than
maintaining existing business and there will be considerable economies of scale through
joint work.
New joint promotional activity should initially focus on short breaks, and watersports.
Opportunities for joint promotional activity should not necessarily be restricted to “new”
markets and there will be some economies of scale and added value in other areas such
as:
Group travel promotion
E-marketing and CRM
PR activity
40
Joint procurement - e.g. bespoke computer software, print, photography,
distribution
Educational tourism – e.g. continued emphasis and support of International
Education Forum
Business tourism – continuation of joint work through BICB but the development and
potential for additional funding for the BICB to become the Bournemouth & Poole
(International) Conference Bureau should be explored.
New product development
New product development would facilitate the development of new markets and
strengthen competitiveness in existing markets. Bournemouth and Poole have been
successful in the last two decades in terms of new product development – examples
include the BIC, new Pavilion Gardens, new restaurant developments in Poole, Tower
Park refurbishment, the surf reef at Boscombe and special events development.
However delivering major new product development for a destination can be a difficult
process that requires either long term activity or opportunism, or both. Mechanisms to
foster and facilitate new product development should be supported – e.g. positive
support to specific types of tourism developments in planning policies, joint tourism
development working group(s), involvement in broader regeneration and development
initiatives, development/investment promotional activity towards targeted companies,
etc. Examples of this type of activity include current involvement in the delivery of
Bournemouth town centre master vision that is seeking to attract new retail
development.
New product development should ideally strengthen the appeal and competitiveness of
Bournemouth and Poole in short break markets – priority (and blue sky) areas could
include watersports related product, further retail development (particularly if it is unique
within the region / sub region), boutique hotel development, top end restaurant
development, and further cultural facilities (major museum or gallery development).
A key area of new product development that is more straightforward to implement is
special events – although the issues and resources should not be under-estimated. New
events development offers the potential advantage of supporting high level market
development aims but also addressing periods of spare capacity. Poole and
Bournemouth should look at opportunities for the development of one or more high
profile events that support market positioning (see above) and hit a period of relatively
low demand.
One possibility is the development of a large audience multi-cultural event incorporating
the support of International Education Forum and other agencies.
A key priority in events development is the need to gain greater community and
stakeholder involvement in event organisation – to bring new ideas and stimulus, and
involvement in terms of participation and promotion. Mechanisms to encourage this,
41
which should be explored, could include specialist advice (to help develop capacity
and expertise), and a scheme of financial support for new event development.
However, the potential of these needs to be weighed against some of the legislative
barriers that voluntary organisations come up against when trying to organise events.
Raising the quality of the offer
Maintaining and raising the overall quality of the existing product could have a
significant impact on the appeal and positioning of Bournemouth and Poole, and their
competitiveness. In terms of specific tourism product, the priority sector is
accommodation, particularly in Bournemouth but other sectors (such as attractions and
restaurants, night time economy) could also benefit.
While investment will be largely driven by market forces, there are a number of joint
Bournemouth and Poole initiatives that could be pursued – these include:
Continued implementation of NAQAS in the accommodation sector and, possibly,
phasing out of the Bournemouth Hotel inspection scheme in favour of NAQAS to
exceed regional standards.
Introduction of a form of ‘quality mark’ for local attractions and restaurants. This
could be an extension of the Bournemouth Hotel inspection scheme.
Business development, up-skilling the tourism workforce (e.g. through the
development of the Hotel Training School or DNFTP), and looking at broader work
force issues (such as the needs of migrant workers).
8.3 Potential projects
In the short to medium term the following projects should be progressed:
Further perceptions research and brand development work (building on the existing
focus group research) to identify an appropriate brand architecture for Poole and
Bournemouth in current markets and potential new (short break) markets.
Development of a new joint short break campaign leading from the development of
the brand architecture.
Further development of other joint promotional activity – Group travel trade (e.g.
joint guide), PR, CRM and emarketing
Development of new cultural festival
Investigate the potential for provision of specialist event advice and development of
a scheme of financial assistance.
Maintain and increase participation of accommodation in NAQAS
Introduction of a quality mark for attractions and restaurants
Investigate the specific needs of migrant workers in the industry.
42
9. Strategic Priority 2: Welcoming
This section covers:
Booking
Transport
Public Realm
Disabled Accessibility
9.1 Vision and rationale
Attracting the visitor is simply the start of a process. Once a decision to visit has been
made, the visitor will go through various stages of the “customer journey” – these include
in simple terms:
Booking
Travelling to the destination
Experiencing the destination
Leaving the destination
Post-holiday CRM
A key differentiator of a successful destination is the quality of experience for the visitor
through these stages – in simple terms how well does the destination “work”.
The vision for Bournemouth and Poole is of a destination that is pre-eminent in these
areas. A destination where booking by web and telephone is simple and
straightforward, transport access is good with great connectivity by different modes of
transport (public and private), and the quality of welcome, customer service and the
public realm is outstanding – orientation is clear and simple.
9.2 Development approaches
There are a number of elements of the destination offer that Bournemouth and Poole
could develop jointly in the short to medium term. Examples include:
Booking procedures
Tourism product (such as accommodation, attractions, activities etc) within
Bournemouth and Poole will often share the same audiences – someone wanting to stay
in Poole may book accommodation in Bournemouth (or vice versa), or someone staying
in Bournemouth will want information on events or attractions in Poole (or beyond). From
both customer and business perspectives, there is a strong logic to integrating
43
information databases, and booking facilities on the Web (and also for telephone
bookings and TIC procedures).
The optimum longer term solution is the integration of DMSs that would bring significant
organisational benefits and economies of scale for Bournemouth and Poole (see section
11). In the short term, the further development and enhancement of joint booking
activity should be pursued – e.g. using Bournemouth’s Activity Booking Service on
pooletourism.com, and integrating TIC booking procedures more closely.
Closer integration of product databases (with possible data sharing), and perhaps a joint
information unit to collect and maintain information and information quality should also
be explored in the short term. A key priority will be ensuring inter-operability of the local
DMSs with EnglandNet. This could include taking on the EnglandNet data stewardship
responsibilities for the conurbation.
Improving transport access
Improving the transport access of the destination will be driven by a range of
environmental and economic factors – tourism will only be one of many considerations in
the decision making process. The DMP will however have an important role as a
potential lobbying body – proactively raising the concerns and issues of the industry
across both Bournemouth and Poole, and providing expertise on the needs of the
industry and its consumers.
In addition, there are areas where the DMP can have a more direct impact. These
include, for example, the development of transport schemes (such as a water bus),
development of joint in–destination information and service promotion (e.g. disabled
access, public transport, car parking, taxi services), and co-ordinated white-on-brown
signing schemes.
Public realm
The majority of public realm improvements probably require implementation on a local
and separate basis as opposed to a joint Bournemouth and Poole basis – e.g.
Bournemouth requires rationalisation and development of its signing, Poole does not.
Similarly the two areas currently have different designs within public realm and signing
and there is a strong rationale to maintain these.
However there are a number of areas of potential joint work – these include:
The development of joint practices and policies, and shared information initiatives in
relation to seafront byelaws, and the night time economy
Investigating entry point (main roads and transport termini) issues and agreeing
common standards and comprehensive improvements across both towns. The
potential of working specifically with the respective railway stations should be
explored.
44
Disabled Accessibility
While disabled accessibility within the wider realm will be dealt with by each Local
Authority according to their respective needs, the partnership has a role to play in terms
of co-ordinating information provision both in terms of access and content – through, for
example:
A joint access guide (see above)
Common web standards – in terms of accessibility and presentation of information on
disabled access
9.3 Potential projects
Potential joint “welcoming” projects include:
Investigating the opportunities and feasibility for the development of a joint DMS in
time.
Setting up Bournemouth’s Activity Booking Service on pooletourism.com.
Examine the feasibility of product data sharing and co-ordinated data collection
and management.
Look at achieving Interoperability of DMSs with EnglandNet.
Exploring the potential for water taxi/bus between Bournemouth Pier and Poole Quay
with potential for a stop at Sandbanks.
Development of joint information print – particularly a joint Access guide, and guide
to transport in Bournemouth and Poole.
Examine the feasibility of shared white on brown signage policy / approach.
Exploring the potential for a joint Taxi Promotion through greater shared working with
taxi operators in conurbation.
Sharing information/initiatives from respective town centre pub-watch schemes.
Development of joint beach Management Practises and shared approaches
towards things such as cycling, dogs, signage, road train route, commercial
opportunities.
45
10. Strategic Priority 3: Sustaining
10.1 Rationale
Tourism relies on the integrity of the destination’s environment and it is recognised that
destinations have to be environmentally and socially sustainable. Tourists themselves are
more discerning and aware of the impacts that they create and to remain competitive
and attractive to visitors, destinations must embrace and act upon the principles of
sustainability. This is encapsulated in the VICE model that stresses the importance and
inter-relationships between Visitors, Industry and the Community within environmental
limits. It is both a priority and a key theme in the South West regional strategy “Towards
2015”, and a key element of Bournemouth and Poole’s tourism (and other) strategies
The vision for Bournemouth and Poole is one of a destination that is not only able to
attract visitors but to manage them appropriately to bring maximum economic benefits
without impacting adversely on the local and global environment or host community.
The community and the environment (not just Bournemouth and Poole’s but the wider
environment) should be at the forefront of decision making.
10.2 Development approaches
There are a number of options for ensuring sustainable good practice in Bournemouth
and Poole.
Sustainable businesses
The Davos Declaration (outcome of the recent UNWTO on Climate Change and
Tourism), and the Tourism Sustainability Report requires action from the tourism sector to:
Mitigate its Greenhouse Gas GHG emissions, derived especially from transport and
accommodation activities
Adapt tourism businesses and destinations to changing climate conditions
Apply existing and new technology to improve energy efficiency, and
Secure financial resources to help poor regions and countries.
There are several contributions towards sustainability that businesses can make, from
recycling their waste, to increasing their energy and water efficiency, and
communications with their visitors. Such good practice can be encouraged through
actions that make savings and minimise impact (e.g. Actions of the Year) and
recognised through accreditation such as the Green Tourism Business Scheme, the David
Bellamy Conservation Awards (aimed at members of the British Holiday and Home, Park
Association) and the potential new VisitBritain scheme. Take up of these schemes is
limited in Bournemouth and Poole, and the DMP, in partnership with SWT, should continue
to promote these schemes.
46
Visitor stewardship
Tourists are increasingly willing to participate in the stewardship of the places they visit.
There are several areas where visitors to Bournemouth and Poole could be encouraged
to make a contribution towards the sustainability of the destination, through payback
schemes and awareness campaigns, building on the South West Future Footprints
messages – i.e.:
'Try Local, Buy Local' – For example, investigate and encourage the promotion of
local/regional food and drink in bars and restaurants, and promote local foods
through eating guides and other tourism media to encourage visitors to purchase of
local food, drink and goods.
'Explore what's on your doorstep' – encouraging car-free tourism. There is strong
potential to encourage the use of car-free alternatives as part of the visitor’s
experience within Bournemouth and Poole through promotion and development of
initiatives like water taxis/buses, cycling routes (e.g. Poole’s Heritage Cycling Route),
car free itineraries, developed offers with transport providers) beach land trains etc.
and scheme like the New Forest’s Car Free Tourism initiative (which Bournemouth and
Poole could build on).
'Look for Businesses that care’ – encouraging visitors to look for places to stay visit eat
and shop who are caring for the local area and environment, for example those who
are accredited and are displaying the GTBS logo.
Again the DMP, in conjunction with SWT, should promote Futurefootprint messages to
visitors and potential visitors through a range of media, and through developing a
sustainable tourism charter. This would be a locally defined, community developed
vision of sustainable tourism. The charter should outline key issues for Bournemouth and
Poole and encourage and support visitors and tourism businesses to move towards
sustainability at a pace that is within their capability. A key concept would be that of
continual improvement.
Future proofing
Sustainable businesses and visitor stewardship schemes are of key importance if
Bournemouth and Poole’s visitor economy is to contribute to the Climate Change
agenda. However, more fundamental measures may need to be considered – e.g.
issues of waste disposal, energy and water supply and costs, the relative attractiveness
(or unattractiveness) of certain target audiences from a carbon emissions perspective.
Similarly, climate change could have a significant potential impact on Bournemouth and
Poole in terms of, for example, sea levels and erosion, weather patterns, temperature
levels. These are all elements that in the longer term could have a profound impact on
the management of the destination.
A potential role of the DMP is to input into advance or contingency planning to address
some of these issues. This could possibly be progressed through working with key
partnerships (e.g. transport, education, training, Town Centre management, recycling,
climate change, and the SW Climate Change Impacts Partnership).
47
Host communities
The host community is a key element of tourism sustainability. Within Bournemouth and
Poole there is generally community support for the tourism industry and the benefits it
brings. However, this should not be taken for granted, and the host community should
continue to have involvement in the tourism sector through, e.g. citizen’s panels,
consultation and specific host community research (see section 12), and activities
orientated to both residents and tourists (e.g. events, tourism week, special promotions).
10.3 Potential projects
The following projects should be progressed:
Encourage businesses to become more resource efficient (e.g. Action of the Year)
and participate in the GTBS and David Bellamy Awards, and encourage visitors to
choose these businesses by promoting the accreditation schemes and businesses in
publications and on websites.
Develop a sustainable tourism charter for consumers and the industry linking into
Future Footprints.
Promotion of the use and consumption of local/regional food, drink products and
services.
Development of future proofing and advance contingency planning linking into
local work on climate change and risk management.
Better and improved promotion of alternative transport services with clearer
messages, and better access to integrated information, and car free itineraries.
Continued consultation with host communities.
Dedicated resources required to deliver the projects and financial funding to start up
projects.
48
11. Strategic Priority 4: Partnership
11.1 Rationale
To deliver a joint Bournemouth and Poole tourism agenda there is a need for an
appropriate infrastructure and delivery mechanism. This is currently provided by the
Poole and Bournemouth DMP Co-ordinating Group.
There is a strong logic, in terms of co-ordination and potential economies of scale, to joint
partnership working both between the public and private sectors, and between
Bournemouth and Poole. This is already recognised in Bournemouth and Poole, with
strong existing partnerships through, e.g. the management boards, and DMP Co-
ordinating Group. There is also a strong logic for partnerships beyond Bournemouth and
Poole, particularly with Dorset and the New Forest.
11.2 Development approaches
A key issue in partnership development and working will be the extent to which the
Bournemouth and Poole DMP will need to develop – i.e. whether it should stay as a co-
ordinating group for a series of joint projects with the separate Management Boards
delivering the bulk of initiatives, or whether joint working should be developed further.
There are a number of models that could be pursued. These range from the current
arrangements, through the development of a partnership with more specific
responsibilities and budget (and possibly staff - e.g. a project officer or secondee), to the
development of a stand-alone organisation that is the primary vehicle for the delivery of
destination management services for Bournemouth and Poole (and possibly beyond).
The different models each have advantages and disadvantages.
The approach to partnership and the development of the DMP should be an iterative
and incremental one – i.e. as the need and rationale for a stronger partnership arises
(through e.g. the development of a potential joint brand architecture), the organisation
and its scope and method of delivery be reviewed. Central therefore to the
development of the DMP will be a finite action plan (see section 14) but also regularly
auditing / monitoring of its activities.
A second (and linked) key issue for the development of the partnership will be resources
– both staff and budgetary – that are available. At present the partnership had no
dedicated resources and again these will need to be developed on incremental basis.
The partnership will endeavour to lever in available external funding from, e.g. SWERDA,
and the private sector for particular initiatives – something it is probably better placed to
do than the individual tourism offices. It will also seek to achieve economies of scale in
the utilisation of existing budgets from the respective tourism offices for some joint
projects.
49
In terms of staff, initial activity should focus on staff familiarisation (in terms of a greater
understanding on not only destinations but also what each tourism office does and how
they work), and identifying and developing complementary specialisms.
The Bournemouth and Poole DMP will look to work in with other partnerships, particularly
the Dorset and New Forest Tourism Partnership and emerging Dorset DMP, and look at
the development of multi area agreements.
11.3 Potential projects
Development of an annual DMP action plan
Undertake a regular audit / monitoring the work of the DMP
Review the role and scope of the DMP
Staff familiarisation programme
Staff training and development via TSN, DP:UK or destination manager ‘coaching’
sessions
Share regional best practice via regional DMO Forum meetings
50
12. Strategic Priority 5: Intelligence
12.1 Rationale
Research and intelligence is key to good decision making and to performance
monitoring. While some tourism related research has been undertaken in Bournemouth
and Poole, this has tended to be relatively patchy and ad-hoc. For example, research
on Poole is limited, and across both destinations there is no programme of regular
research, which makes any identification of trends or change difficult. The cost of
research, and the synergy between the requirements of Bournemouth and Poole means
there is a strong rationale for the development of a joint programme, or joint
commissioning of work through partner organisations (e.g. DNFTP, Bournemouth
University, SWT).
The vision is for the development of a joint research programme that provides
appropriate intelligence for decision making across a range of areas, and provides a
mechanism for monitoring progress through time.
12.2 Development approaches
Research and intelligence can be categorised into two broad groups – exploratory and
monitoring. Exploratory research will often be undertaken on an ad-hoc basis –
monitoring research will be undertaken on a regular basis. However, the two elements
do often overlap and can sometimes be delivered through the same surveys.
Central to the development of a research programme for Bournemouth and Poole
should be three principal pieces of regular research. These are:
Industry monitoring research – primarily occupancy related research. This is currently
undertaken for the serviced sector. Short to medium term priorities should be to
boost the serviced sample size, and also possibly extend the research to cover the
non-serviced sector.
Undertake regular visitor surveys – in the past surveys have been undertaken for
Bournemouth (whole destination and two beach user surveys), and Poole (beach
users only). Some data is provided on Bournemouth from the Dorset wide research
project. However, there is a need to implement a specific survey for both
Bournemouth and Poole to explore the characteristics of visitors and also assess their
satisfaction with different aspects of the destination offer (public realm etc). To
enable on-going monitoring this should be undertaken on a regular basis (say every
three years).
Undertake research into the attitudes of the host communities to look at their
(changing) views of the tourism industry – the benefits and problems it brings. For on-
51
This core programme should be supported by a number of ad-hoc pieces of research.
These should include, in the short to medium term:
Further research into perceptions and brands, and gaps and opportunities among
visitors and non-visitors.
Conference research – looking at venue performance (possibly through the British
Conference Venue Survey) and delegate characteristics, activities and spend.
The potential of trying to run the Bournemouth Tourism Barometer across both areas
should also be investigated.
12.3 Potential projects
Undertake further perceptions research (see section 8).
Work with hoteliers to boost participation in current occupancy surveys.
Undertake a destination wide survey of visitors – linked to SWT research and visitor
survey.
Undertake research into conference venues and delegates.
Look at the potential of the Bournemouth Tourism Barometer.
52
13. Key Performance Indicators
While the DMP will be subject to regular auditing (see section 11.2), performance
indicators should be developed as a mechanism for monitoring the strategic progress of
the DMP (and other organisations it works with) and associated activity. In many cases
the baseline and targets need to be set following more detailed research (see section
12). Potential performance indicators could include:
Attracting
Total visitor spend
Number of jobs supported by tourism spend
Average spend per visit
Seasonality of visits
Room occupancy rates
Percentage of inspected to known accommodation
Percentage of inspected attractions and restaurants
Welcoming
Levels of visitor satisfaction (with different aspects of the destination)
Sustaining
Number of green accredited businesses
% journeys made without the car (to and within destination)
General community satisfaction (i.e. acceptance of tourists and tourism as an
industry)
53
14. Action Plan
The following section outlines an indicative action plan of some of the key activities that the partnership will seek to progress over the
next three years.
This is presented in a tabular format and a number of headings are used. These include:
Priority – priority of the project:
A = highest priority
B = medium priority
C= lower priority – desirable but not essential
Year – year of the project. Year one represents 2008/09 etc.
Lead –the area that will take a lead on a project.
Cost – costs are order of magnitude and are presented on a broad scale, which is as follows:
H= £20k+ project
M= £10-20k project
L= up to £10k
N/a = no direct budget cost although there would be staff time implications
Source – potential source of funding. External funding means funding will be sourced from an outside organisation or organisations.
Existing funding means that funding from one or both Management Boards will be utilised.
54
Year Cost
Prio-
Project Description 1 2 3 4+ Cost Source Notes
rity
Attracting
Brand Further perceptions research A ● H/M External £20k of funding secured from
development and brand development work SWERDA /SWT
to identify an appropriate
brand architecture
Short break Development of a new joint A ● ● ● H External / Some use of existing
campaign short break campaign existing marketing spend and
contribution from tourism
trade.
Water sports Development of a new joint A ● ● ● ● H External Cost will depend on format of
campaign watersports campaign /existing the campaign – it could be,
e.g. largely PR based. Again
use of existing PR resources
and industry partner funding
Joint group travel Joint guide and exhibition / B ● ● ● H Existing
promotion promotion activity
Joint PR activity PR where there common B ● ● ● ● L Existing
messages / audiences
CRM / emarketing Development of joint CRM B ● ● H External Funding for feasibility and
infrastructure. Integration of /existing interoperability of systems
DMS
55
Year Cost
Prio-
Project Description 1 2 3 4+ Cost Source Notes
rity
B & PCB. Development and funding of B ● ● ○ ○ L/M Existing Developing the BICB service
joint Conference and meeting and to a wider geographical
venue finding and related external membership, with additional
delegate services for wider set-up funding from SWRDA,
connurbation eg. entire BH Poole Tourism and new
postcode areas. income streams from trade.
Development of Joint Poole / Bournemouth B ● ● M External / Sector support (e.g.
cultural festival festival existing education sector) required
and start up funding. There is
some existing sponsorship
Event Investigate the potential for C ● ○ ○ H External / Investigation of potential of
development provision of specialist event existing scheme likely to only have
scheme advice and development of a staff time implications.
scheme of financial assistance
NAQAS Maintain and increase A ● ● ● ● N/a Existing Agreement required for the
participation of delivery of NAQAS at a local
accommodation in NAQAS level and self funded by a
local operation.
Other QA Introduction of a quality mark B ● ● ● L
for attractions and restaurants
Migrant workers Investigate the specific needs of C ● ● L/
migrant workers in the industry n/a
Welcoming
56
Year Cost
Prio-
Project Description 1 2 3 4+ Cost Source Notes
rity
DMS Investigating the opportunities B ● ● L Existing / Support costs from SWT plus
and feasibility for the external existing providers. Extended
development of a joint DMS in contract with Tiscover to look
time. at opportunities 09/09
Activity booking Setting up Bournemouth’s B ● L Existing Pages need to be integrated
Activity Booking Service on in to Poole site. Sales to Poole
pooletourism.com base operations.
Data sharing Examine the feasibility of B ● L Existing / Integrated into the
product data sharing and co- External development of the joint DMS
ordinated data collection and
management.
EnglandNet Look at achieving A ● L External SWT funding support for Poole
Interoperability of DMSs with website
EnglandNet
Water taxi Exploring the potential for water B ● ● L Existing Proposal to put the idea out
taxi/bus between Bournemouth the market place
Pier and Poole Quay with
potential for a stop at
Sandbanks.
Join info. print Development of joint B ● ● ● N/a Existing Opportunities examined every
information print – particularly a year for both print and
joint Access guide, and guide marketing activity.
to transport in Bournemouth
and Poole
57
Year Cost
Prio-
Project Description 1 2 3 4+ Cost Source Notes
rity
WoB signing policy Examine the feasibility of shared B ● L Existing
white on brown signage policy /
approach
Taxi promotion Exploring the potential for a joint B ● L Existing Developing the Poole Tourism
Taxi Promotion through greater and concept to extend to
shared working with taxi external Bournemouth – sponsor to
operators in conurbation. brand up taxi’s
Pub watch Sharing information/initiatives C ● Existing
from respective town centre
pub-watch schemes.
Beach Practices Development of joint beach B ● ● ● Existing Commitment in Bournemouth
Management Practises and Seafront Strategy
shared approaches towards
things such as cycling, dogs,
signage, road train route,
commercial opportunities.
Sustaining
Green businesses Encourage businesses to C ● ● ● L Existing Does require dedicated
become more resource champion(s) - not resourced
efficient (e.g. Action of the
Year) and participate in the
GTBS and David Bellamy
Awards
58
Year Cost
Prio-
Project Description 1 2 3 4+ Cost Source Notes
rity
Green visitors Encourage visitors to choose B ● ● L Existing Need to increase number of
these businesses by promoting businesses currently
the accreditation schemes and accredited
businesses in publications and
on websites.
Sustainable Tourism Develop a sustainable tourism A ● Existing Needs active promotion in the
Charter charter for consumers and the community with champion (s)
industry linking into Future
Footprints
Local produce Promotion of the use and B ● Existing
consumption of local/regional
food, drink products and
services.
Alternative Better and improved promotion A ● ● ● L Existing / May be able to link into green
transport of alternative transport services external agenda funding to increase
with clearer messages, better promotional budgets.
access to integrated
information, and car free
itineraries.
Host communities Continued consultation with A ● ● ● ● L Existing
host communities.
59
Year Cost
Prio-
Project Description 1 2 3 4+ Cost Source Notes
rity
Resources Dedicated resources required A ● ● ● ● M External
to deliver the projects and
financial funding to start up
projects.
Future proofing Development of future proofing B ● ● ● L Existing
and advance contingency /external
planning linking into local work
on climate change and risk
management
Partnership
Action plan Development of an annual DMP A ● ● ● ● n/a Existing
action plan
DMP audit Undertake a regular audit / A ● ● ● ● n/a Existing
monitoring the work of the DMP
Review the role and scope of A ● ● n/a Existing
the DMP
Staff familiarisation Staff familiarisation programme A ● ● ● ● n/a Existing
60
Year Cost
Prio-
Project Description 1 2 3 4+ Cost Source Notes
rity
Staff training Staff training and development A ● ● ● L Existing /
via TSN, DP:UK or destination external
manager ‘coaching’ sessions
Share regional best practice via B ● ● ● ● n/a Existing
regional DMO Forum meetings
Intelligence
Perceptions Undertake further perceptions A ● M External Potential source SWT
research research
Occupancy survey Work with hoteliers to boost A ● ● ● ● n/a Existing / Joint working with MRG and
participation in current external SWT working to boost
occupancy surveys. participation
Visitor survey Undertake a destination wide A ● ● L Existing Linked to work of MRG
survey of visitors – link to SWT (DNFTP)
research and visitor survey
Conference Undertake research into C ● ● ● L External
research conference venues and funding
delegates, and the education
market
Tourism Barometer Look at the potential of the B ● L Existing Current barriers in the difficulty
Bournemouth Tourism of getting access to key
Barometer information
61
