BOURNEMOUTH FOR BUSINESS Event Organiser's Guide Welcome to Bournemouth Welcome to Bournemouth With its panoramic coastline, iconic architecture, meandering gardens, vibrant shopping experience and city-style restaurants and bars, Bournemouth strikes the perfect balance between work and play. This handy guide will help you discover the hidden – and not so hidden – gems of our iconic town, giving you a bird’s eye view of the bountiful best bits. Contents 2-3 Not just Britain’s best beach… 10-11 Business Events Bournemouth 4 Immerse yourself in the 12-40 Our venues great outdoors 41-52 Support services 5 Serious about green 54 Event services listings 6 Entrepreneurial at heart 55-66 Dining 7 Boomtown stats 67-69 Accommodation listings 8 Work hard, play hard 69-70 Map 9 City-style dining by the beach BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk 1 Not just Britain’s best beach… Whilst there’s so much more to Bournemouth than its beach, it’s a pretty good place to start. Voted the UK's best beach in TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards two years in a row, the seven-mile stretch of uninterrupted golden sand and promenade is a hub of activity all year round. The fact that Bournemouth enjoys a unique Pier Approach, with its vibrant open space, microclimate, some of the warmest sea sea view eateries and bustling bars provides temperatures in the UK, and enough sunshine a gateway to Bournemouth’s extensive to cultivate sub-tropical plant species in its gardens. Visitors can stroll seamlessly into Victorian gardens, is the icing on the cake. the beautifully cultivated, Grade II listed green 2 BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk space, which conceals an eclectic mix of its canopied walkway, whilst the Square street food and seasonal entertainment, from boasts street entertainment, live music art exhibitions to festivals to ice-skating. and places to watch the world go by. The town itself is a traffic-free hub of high And when it’s time to unwind, the town’s street favourites and independent boutiques. award-winning restaurants, trendy cocktail bars and independent breweries – Known to locals as ‘Bournemouth’s Bond not to mention the notorious live music Street’, Westover Road offers designer scene – will bring the day to a lively labels, art galleries and jewellery along (and late!) close. BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk 3 Immerse yourself in the great outdoors It’s no accident that Bournemouth is a centre for health and fitness. Originally established as a health spa in the 19th Century, the town’s coat of arms reads ‘Pulchritudo et Salubritas’, which translates as ‘Beauty and Health’. With its miles of beaches, acres of parks to a healthy juice in the popular seafront and neighbouring New Forest, the area beach bar, Urban Reef. Or if you’re feeling lends itself perfectly to a multitude of brave, learn to surf or paddleboard at outdoor sports and activities, which locals the O’Neill sponsored surf school. and visitors enjoy in equal measure. The recent introduction of Beryl Bikes From cycling and jogging along the – the town’s take on London’s ‘Boris’ seven miles of uninterrupted beach equivalent – is testament to Bournemouth’s and promenade to yoga on the commitment to healthy living. shore, the town’s unique geography Couple this with annual fitness events including and positive attitude to health the Bournemouth Marathon; pier-to-pier is truly infectious. swim; the British Beach Polo Championships; and the world's largest sport and music Enjoy a friendly (or not-so-friendly!) festival, Bournemouth 7s, and you’ve got game of volleyball on the award-winning yourself a truly inspiring destination and a Boscombe beach before treating yourself very good reason to pack your trainers. 4 BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk Serious about green With the Jurassic Coast on our doorstep and the ancient New Forest a stone’s throw away, it’s not surprising we’re passionate about our environment. Our commitment to sustainability saw us the cutting-edge of environmental protection. become the first local authority in the UK to To achieve this, our environment must be join the Earth Charter Initiative, and through of a high quality and continually improving, our 2020 Vision, we’ve set a target to reduce which requires us to be incredibly proactive in our CO2 emissions by 30%, which will help the encouraging both residents and businesses UK hit its target of 34% CO2 reduction by 2020. to reduce their environmental impact. In 2015, Bournemouth Council showed As such, we at Business Events its support for the global effort to tackle Bournemouth work with venues with climate change by joining the Compact of green credentials and recommend local Mayors and endorsing the Paris Pledge. suppliers that have a good record of using recyclable materials, sustainable products These initiatives align Bournemouth and putting environmental policies in place. with other leading cities across the globe – something our residents and This bias towards environmentally conscious businesses alike are very proud of. venues and suppliers ensures we can We’ve set our sights on becoming a continue to promote sustainability, and inch ‘Green Economy Leader’ by 2020, placing us at ever closer towards our green targets. BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk 5 Entrepreneurial at heart With the nationally acclaimed Arts University Bournemouth, which has made its name as a specialist university for employability, and the highly- regarded National Centre for Computer Animation at Bournemouth University, it’s no wonder Bournemouth is a hub for innovative start-ups. The local area is the proud home of an The digital industry in Dorset is also growing eclectic range of entrepreneurial brands at an exponential rate. According to the including Jimmy’s Iced Coffee, Conker Gin, Tech Nation report in 2018, over 7,500 Black Cow Vodka, Green & Black’s, Lush, are employed in the digital sector locally, Farrow & Ball, Dorset Cereals, Dorset Tea which has grown by 25% since 2014. and Animal, as well as international giants such as Liverpool Victoria, JP Morgan and We’re able to champion and support these Sunseeker, who have all helped to bring an brilliant brands through various start-up extremely high calibre workforce to the area. accelerators, regular meet-ups including 6 BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk Bournemouth has been officially declared a ‘Boomtown’, with significant developments in accommodation, transport, venues and the Entrepreneurial tech and creative industries. We’re incredibly proud that 50% of UK graduates in film, visual effects and video games industries are Bournemouth University graduates. Bournemouth and Poole are also the second-fastest growing at heart area in the UK for start-ups. £45 million Major upgrade of transport and infrastructure to improve access into and around Bournemouth Airport, as well as unlocking nearby employment land £40 million New 131-bedroom Malmaison Hotel du Vin, opening 2020 £12 million New 105-bedroom Premier Inn, formerly Wessex Hotel, opening 2020 £90 million Seafront strategy to create unique leisure zones along the seven-mile coastline £150 million Proposed mixed-use development on the old Boomtown stats Winter Gardens site above the Hilton Hotel, to include residential, restaurant, leisure and retail space £25 million New cultural quarter around Bournemouth Pavilion Meetdraw, Open Sauce, Silicon Theatre, to include multi-use performance space, South and Virgin Start-up, and hotel and restaurants, plus links to the beaches, town centre and forthcoming Winter Gardens annual festivals such as the South’s scheme via a new Grand Garden Walk largest celebration of digital, arts and culture, BOMO, and the UK's largest visual effects, computer £363 million Digital Gross Value Added (GVA) to the local games and animation festival, BFX. economy in 2018 This passion for innovation permeates the town, attracting some 140,000 £34 million business visitors every year, who soak Generated for the local economy from events up the thriving, creative community, at Bournemouth International Centre and Bournemouth Pavilion in 2018/19 and always leave inspired. BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk 7 Work hard, play hard We know how important your team is to you. And we recognise that your business’ core values should lie at the heart of everything. Which is why we take time to understand your unique needs and deliver an experience that surpasses your expectations. From the hotel to the restaurant to the setting for a mix of extreme challenges, event, we tailor your stay to ensure your visit coastal treks, off-road safaris, cosy pub aligns with your company’s core values. stops and world-class dining experiences. And because of the area’s infamous We can organise anything from high ropes natural beauty, you have dozens of adventures, orienteering and paintball to opportunities to immerse your employees paddleboarding, yacht charters, jetski safaris, in the great outdoors – a tonic that never fails to boost team morale. powerboat rides and surf experiences. And with a string of lively bars, restaurants, cafés Unspoilt, protected landscapes and dramatic and clubs to choose from, you have ample seascapes provide a beautiful and exhilarating opportunity to spoil yourselves rotten. 8 BusinessEventsBournemouth.org.uk City-style dining by the beach Considering Dorset’s foodie reputation, it’s no surprise Bournemouth offers a plethora of wining and dining experiences. With its miles of coastline and close proximity coastline, nestled in the gardens, and to the New Forest, local delights range from in the thick of the town centre. fresh seafood, regional vegetables and With their different locations, each hand-reared meats to delicacies such as gem offers up a unique experience and Dorset Blue Vinney cheese, Jugged Steak and atmosphere, from sea view dining at West Portland Lamb. Couple this with the town’s Beach to aerial town views at Level8IGHT love affair with beautifully crafted cocktails to outdoor garden drinks at Eden.