A new direct bus service linking Bristol Airport with the centre of Bath is to be launched in March, potentially providing a significant boost to the city’s tourist industry, it was revealed today.
The service, which will be operated by Bath Bus Company, was announced at Bath Tourism Plus’s (BTP) annual forum. The 200 delegates, drawn from the city’s cafes, bars, restaurants and visitor attractions, warmly welcomed the service, which will start on March 24. Details on ticket prices will be revealed nearer the time.
Martin Curtis, managing director of the Bath Bus Company, best known for its bright red opened-top ‘hop-on, hop-off’ tourist buses, said he had been planning the link for some time and but had kept his plans under wraps until today’s forum.
And he revealed that the service will bring back the trademark green livery on the buses.
The direct link, which will operate with double-decker buses, will travel through Saltford, Keynsham and South Bristol on its way to the airport. It will get passengers from the airport to Bath city centre in just over an hour.
Mr Curtis said: “It’s a commercial service. Prices will be competitive and in line with other transport providers.
“During 2012, 5.8m passengers used Bristol Airport,” said Mr Curtis, who explained the strong business argument for providing a bus link. Bath Bus Company is owned by French transport group RATP.
Looking for new opportunities and need to support and partner other tourist businesses in the city was a key theme at today’s BTP forum.
Among the guest speakers was Bath & North East Somerset Council chief executive Dr Jo Farrar. She promised to address criticism that, in the past, some departments in the council had failed to work together, making life difficult for some businesses. She also added her vote to the idea that companies need to work together in tough economic times.
She vowed to strengthen links between the council and BTP whose aim is to continue building on the momentum of the boost in tourism the city enjoyed last year.
BTP chief executive Nick Brooks-Sykes looked back on some of the successes of last year, including October’s food festival.
“In December 370,000 visitors came to Bath, making it our biggest-ever Christmas market and we hit 1,000 coaches coming into the city, which is a phenomenal achievement,” he said.
“We’ve got a great product but we can’t afford to sit on our laurels.”
Other cities across the country, from Liverpool to Newcastle and Manchester, are now putting more resources than ever into tourism, he said.
Partnership – and continuing to work together – was the way forward, he stressed, adding “We’re all on the same side.”
Today’s workshops included an afternoon session on social media for tourism marketing and news of improvements to The Bath App. BTP also be unveiling the new 2013 Bath Visitor Guide and Venues Directory aimed specifically at business organisations considering conference centres in the city.
