Bath has been chosen by national tourism agency VisitEngland as a key city to help the UK’s tourism industry recover from the effects of the pandemic.
VisitWest, the regional destination management organisation that runs VisitBath, is to receive funding to promote the city this spring and summer as part of its flagship ‘Escape the Everyday’ campaign.
The money will enable tourism chiefs to help the city’s tourism industry recover from the shattering effects of the pandemic by promoting the city through its digital channels.
The campaign aims to encourage 25-44 year olds based in the UK with no children to take a short, city breaks in England by showcasing the breadth of experiences available, such as Bath’s Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein, pictured above and below, the world’s first visitor experience to commemorate the life of the female novelist and her now legendary creation.
It is the first time that the author will have her own dedicated permanent attraction.
Bath’s tourism and hospitality sector has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic as it relies heavily on overseas visitors.
This was borne out by a recent report showing visitor numbers for the Roman Baths, pictured, plunged by nearly 73% last year compared to 2019, sending it tumbling to 51st place in the table of most-visited UK attractions.
According to the Association for Leading Visitor Attractions, outdoor attractions such as gardens, parks, forests and zoos reaped the benefits as those predominately indoors were forced to close for long periods or reduce their opening hours.
Visitor numbers to Bath have also been hit by the cancellation for the past two years of its iconic Christmas Market, which traditionally brings in 400,000 extra visitors a year, boosted the city’s economy by an estimated £32.5m.
While international travel is still recovering from the impact of Covid-related restrictions, with the UK economy opening up, the ‘staycation’ market is seeing a marked improvement.
VisitWest is using the funding to commission a dynamic campaign to drive potential visitors to new landing pages on its websites, with bookable experiences available direct from the landing pages.
‘Escape the Everyday’ content – with videos and images sourced from local photographers – is being promoted primarily through social media until the end of June.
VisitWest director of tourism Kathryn Davis said, with the region’s visitor economy valued at £2.33bn and supporting 45,500 jobs, the recovery of the local tourism industry was vital.
“We are thrilled to have again been successful in securing funding from Visit England to support spring marketing through the Escape the Everyday campaign,” she said.
“As businesses within the visitor economy in our cities and surrounding towns continue to recover from the devastation of the impact of coronavirus, this support is critical to ensuring that we rebuild the industry.”
Financial details of VisitWest’s allocation under the Escape the Everyday campaign has not been revealed.
