Love Bournemouth? Academy asks residents to share it!

Love Bournemouth? Academy asks residents to share it!

It’s been voted the happiest place to live and Bournemouth’s rich natural assets have never been disputed – miles of sandy beaches, acres of immaculate gardens, non-stop events and a fizzing nightlife.

It might have won national awards, but what makes Bournemouth special to the people who live here?

The National Coastal Tourism Academy has launched a We Love Bournemouth campaign to unearth the town’s hidden gems – much-cherished places that residents love. The Academy is asking everyone in the town to upload their favourite images of the town on to www.welovebournemouth.com to create a unique neighbourhood guide.

A special tree in the Middle Gardens, a favourite view from a seafront bench, that perfect cycle track or secluded patch of sand for a picnic - the NCTA wants to find the unsung scenes that make Bournemouth the UK’s best place to live.

“We know Bournemouth is the South Coast’s top tourist destination, it attracts millions of tourists each year and ploughs some £479m into the town’s economy,” says Samantha Richardson, director of the National Coastal Tourism Academy.

“We also know that more than 70 per cent of those tourists visit the beach, but a key reason many visitors come to Bournemouth is to visit friends and family. We have a population of more than 180,000, if each resident invited one person, it would have an enormous long term impact on jobs and the town’s economic fortunes.

“An increase in visitors doesn’t only affect hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions, it affects hair-dressers, garages, supermarkets and every other business with which they engage.

“Bournemouth is an enormously popular place to live and in the new website we’d like to provide a gallery of those hidden gems that visitors might never have seen. Bournemouth residents have a reputation for being welcoming and friendly, it’s one of the reasons the town is such a successful resort. We’re hoping this gallery will add a new dimension to that welcome,” she added.

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Notes to Editors: The National Coastal Tourism Academy is a partnership between Bournemouth Borough Council, Bournemouth University and the local tourism industry. It is funded by the Department of Communities and Local Government, with additional investment from Bournemouth Borough Council and Bournemouth University, initially for two years. The key purpose of the project is to create jobs in the tourism sector through growth in the local economy.

For more media information, please contact Sheron Crossman, Marketing and Communications Manager, National Coastal Tourism Academy, Sheron.crossman@coastaltourismacademy.co.uk, tel: 01202 962565