Businesses support BID ideals

Businesses have given overwhelming support to the proposed objectives for Bournemouth’s Coastal Districts Business Improvement District (BID).

A newsletter posted to all 770 potentially eligible businesses within the BID area sets out the initial results of the consultation survey undertaken over the last couple of months. Over 92% of those who replied said they agreed with the key objectives of bringing more people to Bournemouth, encouraging them to stay longer, spend more locally and come back again.

87% of businesses said that marketing the resort was “very important”, or “quite important” to the success of their business, with 59% indicating that they would like to see “a lot more” spent on promoting the town.

One of the key ways to attract more visitors was felt to be through expanding the events programme, based on examples such as the hugely popular Bournemouth Air Festival. 71% of respondents said they would like to see more events – both for the town as a whole, and also locally along Bournemouth’s coastal strip.

The survey respondents accounted for over 27% of the total rateable value of eligible businesses with the BID area.