Poole’s Strategic Tourism Priorities 2016-2025

a great day out

2010 Relax &

Poole Museum – FREE entry and Restaurants & Cafes – Quayside Retail & Leisure Explore & fully accessible The town’s Poole Quay and the lower Destination – A great place to rich history is revealed on four High Street have a fantastic shop, eat & drink. selection of contemporary Discover ... floors of fascinating galleries. Poole’s Old Town & Lower restaurants, cafes and Eileen Soper’s Illustrated High Street – A great selection Harbour Cruises – Enjoy a traditional pubs. Check out Worlds – Shop & Attraction. of unique shops (just o Poole leisurely boat cruise around Poole Audi October-Feast See your childhood memories Quay) selling gifts, handmade Europe’s largest natural harbour promotions throughout cosmetics and delicious treats. Poole or further afield to Sandbanks, come to life. restaurants in October. Wareham or Swanage. Poole Welcome Centre – See www.eatoutpoole.co m Dolphin Shopping Centre – Friendly, knowledgeable sta Dorset’s largest indoor Brownsea Island – Enjoy for details. will advise you on the best way shopping centre with over woodland walks, spectacular Poole Pottery – Extensive to spend your time in Poole. 100 stores, including many High harbour views and wonderful studio designs to first and Street brands (15 min walk wildlife. Open daily 10am, April Poole Land Train – The most second quality giftware from Poole Quay). Tourism – October. Boats depart daily fun way to see the town. Runs pieces. Wide range of gifts, from Poole Quay. every 15 minutes past the hour accessories and clothing. Poole’s historic Old Town – starting at Poole Quay. Walk the Cockle Trail leaflet or Partner family Treasure Hunt. This business / organisation supports Poole Tourism with the promotion of the town ~ including the Visitor Welcome Centre ~ Events ~ Marketing

pooletourism.com Introduction Setting the Scene

Poole is a successful South-coast resort destination with a strong reputation for quality that is ideally located with direct air, road, rail and sea access. Poole boasts a stunning natural environment that encompasses Europe’s largest natural harbour, 3 miles of golden sandy beaches (including Sandbanks Beach, winner of more blue flags than any other British Beach) and award winning parks and gardens. In addition to this outstanding natural setting, Poole’s tourism product has year round appeal and features a wide range of quality accommodation, attractions and events, as well as being a focus for water and land based activities.

Tourism in Poole is effectively managed through the Poole Tourism Partnership, and the town’s pioneering partnership model is now the government model for delivering Tourism through Destination Management Organisations (DMO). The town has shown resilience during the recent economic downturn and business confidence has been demonstrated through continued investment enabling it to retain its strong competitive edge.

Challenges in macro economic conditions and increasing competition are key drivers in this thriving industry, making innovation essential. These strategic priorities are designed to ensure Poole continues to innovate and develop as a dynamic year round destination providing investment, jobs, business success and amenities that are at the heart of the local community. It will help define the future direction of the Poole tourism product and provide a basis on which the Council and tourism businesses can make informed decisions. It also takes into account the major shift in communication and its impact on how people choose, plan and book holidays and what they expect whilst here.

Our modern, flexible lifestyle brand fits with current trends for active outdoor experiences and this plays to Poole’s strengths as a destination with an outstanding natural environment.

Poole has a positive future that it can look forward to.

Bruce Grant-Braham Chairman, Poole Tourism Partnership

1 Aim Create a high quality, vibrant and prosperous year round resort This will be achieved by maximising the positive contribution Tourism makes to the image, environment and economic development of Poole, building resilience and supporting innovation, investment and confidence in the Tourism product.

Our priorities

• Protect and enhance the natural and built environment with wise growth • Develop economic resilience - growth, jobs and increase year round demand • Nurture the distinct Poole quality product • Become the leading resource for innovation and cutting edge digital marketing for tourism Poole’s Assets • A world class natural environment, with Europe’s largest natural harbour, exceptional Blue Flag beaches including Britain’s best Beach - Sandbanks, a bustling working Quay, an international port with daily cross-channel services to the Channel Islands and France and internationally important heathland and wildlife.

Poole is surrounded by the UNESCO natural world heritage Jurassic Coast, rural Dorset’s areas of outstanding natural beauty and New Forest national park.

• With hundreds of ways to get out, get active and explore nature, Poole is home to an extensive portfolio of year round activities with world class water sports, a multitude of walking and cycling trails, award winning family friendly attractions, Green Flag parks and internationally renowned formal gardens, a comprehensive and varied events programme, innovative cultural, arts and heritage.

• Poole boasts its share of international sports exposure through televised meets of the world class Speedway team, Poole Pirates and over 100 water based events including world class sailing competitions.

• Poole’s reputation for its high quality product is evident across the whole of the accommodation sector, its attractions, restaurants and the environment. The value of this is evident through customer loyalty and high levels of repeat business which has resulted in significant investment in capturing high spending customers and developing new and emerging niche markets.

2 The value of Tourism to Poole

Poole is a successful South coast resort with a tourism business sector that contributes over £200m to the local economy and sustains over 5000 jobs. Over the past 5 years, in challenging economic conditions, investment and confidence in Poole and its product has remained robust.

Private sector investment by established local businesses and national brands along with public sector investment in our landscape, coast and beaches has ensured that Poole continues to punch above its weight delivering a high quality product.

The numbers:

• Staying visitors 373,000 p.a. • Day visits 3.6m p.a. • Domestic 341,000 • Overseas 32,000 • Visitor spend £218m p.a. • Staying visitors £77m • Bed nights 1.6m p.a. • Day visitor spend £130m • Domestic 1.3m • Other related spend £11m • Overseas 300,000 • Employment • Average number of staying nights 4.3 Visitor economy supports 5k jobs • Domestic 3.7 nights • Overseas 10 nights

Dorset visitors are predominately from the South East & London (37%) or the South West (28%).

Source - Economic Impact of Poole’s visitor economy 2013 by South West Research Company.

3 Guiding Principles

Wise Growth – to achieve the right balance to ensure tourism growth is achieved in harmony with the natural environment that created the industry.

Quality – support and develop Poole’s strong reputation for quality in all aspects of the tourism product.

Economic benefit – increase the total value of tourism to Poole through income, jobs and competitiveness.

Host Community – Ensure that local residents reap the benefits of a successful tourism economy.

Innovation – Ensuring Poole’s tourism product and its promotion continually moves forwards and takes advantages of emerging and new technologies.

Partnership Working – achieving more through strong private/public partnership working recognising the contribution Tourism businesses make to the health and wealth across Poole’s Tourism product and the community.

4 Our strategic priorities and how we achieve them Protect and enhance the natural and built environment with wise growth • Influence the maintenance and development of a cohesive public realm that Poole can be proud of. • Ensure Poole Harbour retains its internationally protected status and quality as a unique environment which supports important wildlife, business and leisure opportunities. • Continued emphasis and support for Blue and Green flag status as a key element of Poole’s quality Tourism product. • Promote the use of all Poole beaches in addition to Sandbanks, spreading the impact whilst extending the range and variety of beach access on offer. • Ensure Tourism’s changing needs are planned for in Poole and Dorset wide strategic policies. • Protect existing tourism assets where appropriate and maintain a strong and vibrant industry that encourages market innovation and development. • Support The Great Heath Project, Upton Country Park expansion and Poole Park Life Lottery funding bid. • Promote Poole’s Green Tourism offer. • Work with Tourism businesses to make as many services as possible accessible and ensure equal and fair access to the UK’s 10 million disabled travellers. • Support work to improve travel and access routes into and across the town for pedestrians and vehicles through improved signage, tactical car park pricing and sustainable travel options including electric vehicle charging points and expansion of cycleways such as National Cycle Network and Tour de Manche.

Develop economic resilience - growth, jobs and increase year round demand • Develop year round outdoor experience offer based on the growing demand for active, health conscious, relaxation and re-invigoration experiences including opportunities to explore walking, cycling,water sports, wildlife and nature. • Support investment in new attractions,accommodation, restaurants and retail in Poole with emphasis on an all weather attraction with national prominence. • Grow and support an innovative events programme throughout the year using European Maritime Day as a catalyst,including attraction of new events to Poole. • Deliver effective targeted promotional campaigns that provide increased measureable visitor numbers, improved national reputation and legacy value. • Support Poole Town Centre Partnership and the Borough of Poole’s aspirations to increase the vibrancy and vitality of the Town Centre. • Develop the Group Travel market with innovative, attractive quality products focused on shoulder season day visitors. • Create promotions directly targeted at local residents. • Promote pooletourism.com as the go-to resource for business travellers to Poole. • Develop a commercial business model for the Tourism Partnership that delivers measurable benefits whilst sustaining and growing income, relying less on Council funding.

5 • Support and be an integral partner within the emerging Dorset DMO. • Work with rail, bus, coach and ferry operators on specific marketing to promote Poole as a desirable and easily accessible destination. • Build Tourism market research and intelligence portfolio. • Develop the Cruise market and promote the Poole Port gateway to Channel Islands and France. • Work with Bournemouth Airport to promote Poole as a destination for inbound visitors.

Nurture the distinct Poole quality product • Build on Poole’s strong water sports reputation to become the UK’s leading year round water sports destination for novices, enthusiasts and professionals. • Promote year round reputation of Poole’s seafood, fine dining and eating out offer with an emphasis on local produce. • Promote Poole as one of the leading UK destinations outside peak periods for birdwatching, wildlife and UK’s rarest reptiles. • Develop host community pride to harness Poole’s potential 140k ambassadors. Create engaged on-line social media advocates, as key influencers. • Expand Poole’s cultural Tourism reputation focussing on the town’s rich maritime history, arts & culture, Lighthouse, BSO, Inside Out, Poole Museum, the Old Town and Upton Country Park. • Delight, challenge and create memories that exceed visitor expectations by ensuring partner businesses are fully equipped with Poole knowledge that will enhance the visitor experience. • Establish the Poole brand within the wider international recognition of Dorset through Jurassic Coast, TV and film locations, European Maritime Day, sustainable travel and International Education.

Become the leading resource for innovation and cutting edge digital marketing for tourism • Develop innovative and flexible Digital Marketing that can adapt to changing user trends and demands. • Generate original engaging social media content for users, partners and media to share to promote consistent branding messages about Poole. • Create a social media marketing tool kit for tourism businesses to support their social media. • Build Tourism Direct on-line database for targeted direct on-line marketing. • Design fully integrated, innovative and interactive on-line destination marketing campaigns and competitions that tap into the fear of missing out. • Develop specific digital marketing for tablet and mobile phones. • Create on-line video hub for partners, media and bloggers.

6 Measuring Success Key measurements will be introduced and developed to assess the success of the strategic priorities and these will be incorporated into the detailed annual action plans that the Poole Tourism Partnership agrees each year. Part of this will be to develop new market research and intelligence to broaden the information base.

Measurements will include room occupancy rates, seasonal breakdown of visitor numbers, identifiable jobs created, new tourism investment, website visits, social media engagement and resident satisfaction levels.

We will also measure our success through: • Improved visitor infrastructure • Increased employment and skills • Increased visitor spend • Increased wealth in the local economy from increased visitor spend, visitor figures and by the creation of tourism-related jobs • Enhanced visitor experience

The Strategy’s progress will be monitored on an annual basis with a formal review in 2021.

Date: November 2015 Contact E: [email protected] T: 01202 262539