By Andrew Cooper, chief executive of Bath Business Improvement District (BID).
As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city of Bath is a highly successful tourist destination. It is not hard to understand why, as its beauty and heritage appeals to a great many people around the world who are prepared to invest in travel to get here.
However, aside from the architectural beauty and heritage which initially attracts them, visitors are undoubtedly delighted by everything else the city has to offer during their stay; including street entertainment, a wonderfully varied shopping experience, and a wide selection of very good restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. 
As we all know from our own excursions and holidays to far flung places, entertainment and hospitality after dark is just as important as what you can see and do in the day. For Bath to be a truly engrossing and fulfilling experience it needs to offer visitors a welcoming, safe, and diverse experience that extends after 5.30pm
Of course the picture is not as straightforward as it initially seems as there are different periods to consider outside office hours. The later evening economy is already healthy with restaurants and bars booming from 8pm. Similarly, the night-time economy dominated by our pubs, clubs and venues is also doing well and offering both visitors and local residents plenty to enjoy into the night. But where there is room for improvement is in the early evening economy – that traditionally quieter period immediately after the shops and offices shut.
This can actually be a very pleasant time around the city. The hustle and bustle of the day is calming down, traffic eases, and – especially in the summer months – Bath can look its best just as the sun goes down, casting a golden light over the golden city.
Yet there is still plenty going on at this time, including ‘after-hours’ events at the museums, extended retail hours, evening spa packages and eating-out deals.
To help highlight what the city has to offer during this period, the Bath Business Improvement District has launched a new campaign called Bath After 5 with the aim of supporting, promoting and growing the early evening economy in the city centre. Local businesses have identified the early evening period as an opportunity for growth in a recent survey, and this campaign addresses that opportunity.
The Bath After 5 campaign is being piloted throughout August and September and is supported by Bath Tourism Plus. To help the campaign raise awareness of the seven-days-a-week cultural, shopping, dining and leisure activities on offer after 5pm, the Bath BID team is providing participating businesses with promotional leaflets, posters, window decals and a tool-kit with advice on how companies can get involved in the campaign. There is also a social media campaign that will encourage people to stay in the city centre for longer. As the campaign gains momentum and more businesses get involved, Bath BID will be launching additional marketing initiatives.
By strengthening this early evening period we will not only offer visitors and local residents a more complete and rewarding experience, we will also be supporting local businesses. As momentum builds businesses will be undoubtedly see the opportunities to expand and develop their offer to take advantage.
Bath remains a fantastic city to visit, live in, and work in. However, by building the early evening economy it will become even more of a destination.
