They promised it would be even better than last year. And they delivered.
With more than 1.25 million visitors and some of the best flying displays in the world, the second Bournemouth Air Festival was described by tourism bosses as “an unprecedented success”.
The town has never seen such an influx of visitors or a bigger single injection of money into the local economy.
The festival is expected to generate £30 million, creating 650 new jobs over the next two years. And in a year of recession, the festival provided a spectacle that was free – something many people appreciated.
An estimated 1,344,000 came to Bournemouth to set a new visitor record for the town. The festival attracted 50 per cent more people than last year.
Festival director Jon Weaver told the Echo: “We always felt that many of those who came last year would go away and tell lots of other people about what they’d seen.
“That seems to have happened and we’ve been able to build on the reputation of the festival and the town. Put that together with the brilliant weather we’ve had and the crowds have been at record levels. To say I am delighted with how things have gone would be an understatement.”
The president of the Bournemouth Area Hospitality Association, Des Simmons, said: “This has been a fantastic advert for the town with a family atmosphere and a great festival feel.
“One of the most important factors is that tens of thousands of people have seen what Bournemouth has to offer and hopefully they will come back at other times of the year.
“The percentages in terms of revenue are up quite a lot as you’d expect given that the visitor numbers are significantly higher than last year.”
President of the Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Nigel Hedges, added: “Bournemouth is well and truly open for business and we don’t recognise there’s a recession on.
“The lesson for the shops, hotels and everyone else in the commercial life of Bournemouth is about making the most of the opportunities offered by the wonderful tourism team delivering so many people into the town. It has been a fantastic effort.”
Council chiefs know that they are probably reaching the upper limit of the numbers that the town can safely and comfortably accommodate during the festival – at least not without changes to the infrastructure.
But tourism director Mark Smith insisted it was not a numbers game.
“The truth is, we are not chasing an ever larger number of people so in a sense it doesn’t matter if it’s three quarters of a million or 1.5 million.
“Our focus is all about putting on the best possible show we can for residents and visitors and I hope people feel that’s what we have done this year.
“The festival has been superb but hopefully it has a life way beyond just these four days because it shows what Bournemouth is about.”
Taken from the Daily Echo website.
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