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Poole and Bournemouth join forces to promote 'the coast with the most'

7:00pm Wednesday 13th January 2010


BOURNEMOUTH and Poole’s “main” tourism campaign for 2010 will be promoting watersports like surfing.

The two towns are billing the area as “The Coast With the Most” with the tagline “Love Watersports, Love Bournemouth and Poole”.

The joint campaign is supposed to be a cost-effective way of taking advantage of the town’s famous beachfront.

Mark Smith, Bournemouth’s head of tourism, said activities are stretched along the 10 miles of beach from Poole Harbour to Boscombe Surf Reef and beyond. “It’s an unrivalled watersports offer,” he said, speaking at January’s meeting of Bournemouth Chamber of Trade “We can’t find anywhere in Europe that comes close to the number of arranged activities you can find in this area.

“It’s something we perhaps take for granted because it’s on our back door. It’s going to be our main theme of this year.”

The tourism bodies have produced leaflets that says there are 25 watersports on offer, including, fishing, kite surfing, body boarding, sailing and canoeing. The events that will be promoted include the Animal Windfest in Poole, and the Zapcat speedboat races off Bournemouth, Mr Smith said there had already had lots of press interest and the tourism department planned to organise visits for travel journalists.

The leaflet names 22 watersports operators, mostly in Poole.

Bruce Grant-Braham, chairman of the Poole Tourism Partnership, said: “Historically, perhaps, the majority of watersports events have taken place in Poole, but it’s really good to link with the potential of the surf reef.

“Financially, we have got together some money, it’s not a huge amount.

“It’s a very cost-effective promotion because what is the area already known for? It’s the beach.”


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jboris, Boscombe says...
8:04pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Sack the idiots who try to make the future work and replace it with what happens naturally and reap the rewards. Stick the Tourist bored (zzzz) and the PR departments on a slow boat to Plymouth. They are such a pointless waste of money, nobody buys that marketing/PR **** they taught you in Uni anymore. In fact the entire communication departments could be closed to the areas finacial benefit.

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rainbowkisses, Bournemouth says...
8:18pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Here we go again....lets spend local tax payers money on the tourists....what about the people who live here all year round? what the hell do we have? We keep hearing about how much money these tourists bring to the area, so why does our council tax keep going up? Just where does all this so called tourist money go?

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charley farley west parley, bournemouth says...
8:30pm Wed 13 Jan 10

This areas greatest asset is its beautiful natural setting. That is our shop window that attracts people in. For Bournemouth and Poole to join forces to promote the area makes absolute sense. We need to unite and spread the word that we have the very best beaches in the most beautiful natural setting. If we build on our unique selling points there isn't anywhere else on the coast of this country that has so much to offer. We can't control the weather but neither can anyone else. I think the next logical step is for Poole to become part of Bournemouth to make things simpler but i don't foresee any problems there.

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Esqui, Boscombe says...
9:04pm Wed 13 Jan 10

As long as people don't get the wrong idea. I don't want the streets awash with urine.

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tt52, bournemouth says...
9:16pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Just how do you entice tourists to a south coast resort which has been led into rapid decline by the missuse of public funds by the powers that be, I.E our local councillors, what has this place got to offer, Boscombe, a run down drunkards paradise and an open market for drugs, the surf reef, a 12 million pound heaps of sand bags which will never pay for its self in a million years, surfers go to Cornwall not Boscombe, the imax, one big eyesore, sky high parking charges, Bournemouth town centre, after 10pm no family is safe because of the drunken louts and thugs roaming the streets, the only tourist draw is the air show but even that is ruined by the councils greed for money, last year after tempting thousands of people to the air show but not providing adequate parking the council felt the need, after everyone had arrived and made their way to the beach, to send out the moronic parking attendants to plaster everybodys car with tickets, what a great advert for an event.
No body in our council has a clue what a tourist attraction is all about, this whole area is full if ill conceived ideas that most residents did not want, they rely on the beach and new forest to bring in revenue.
Instead of wasting money trying to tempt tourists to the area it would be better to ask them what they wanted to bring them here in the first place instead of building any old crappy building or surf reef and hoping for the best, but that will never happen because as always they will do what they want to do regardless of the cost.

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oversixty, Bournemouth says...
9:24pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Bournemouth has 10 Local Nature Reserves. How about promoting them ?

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Taffytim, Bournemouth says...
9:40pm Wed 13 Jan 10

tt52 wrote:
Just how do you entice tourists to a south coast resort which has been led into rapid decline by the missuse of public funds by the powers that be, I.E our local councillors, what has this place got to offer, Boscombe, a run down drunkards paradise and an open market for drugs, the surf reef, a 12 million pound heaps of sand bags which will never pay for its self in a million years, surfers go to Cornwall not Boscombe, the imax, one big eyesore, sky high parking charges, Bournemouth town centre, after 10pm no family is safe because of the drunken louts and thugs roaming the streets, the only tourist draw is the air show but even that is ruined by the councils greed for money, last year after tempting thousands of people to the air show but not providing adequate parking the council felt the need, after everyone had arrived and made their way to the beach, to send out the moronic parking attendants to plaster everybodys car with tickets, what a great advert for an event.
No body in our council has a clue what a tourist attraction is all about, this whole area is full if ill conceived ideas that most residents did not want, they rely on the beach and new forest to bring in revenue.
Instead of wasting money trying to tempt tourists to the area it would be better to ask them what they wanted to bring them here in the first place instead of building any old crappy building or surf reef and hoping for the best, but that will never happen because as always they will do what they want to do regardless of the cost.
well you saved 20 different people making these points.

Think I'll copy and paste this onto every comments section so moaning old gits have nothing else to say.

ps
'watersports' ..... please!

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Mediclogan5, Bournemouth says...
9:50pm Wed 13 Jan 10

So lets spend for the minority and NOTThe majority, sure water lots of it but no pools, no ice rinks, no motor sports, no skating, no blading, no cycling oh and no children...yes Bournemouth and Poole have lots of water...BIG DEAL, as a Family Resort...ahem along with the Stags, Hens and crowded A&Es they have NOTHING to offer. And no we are not moaning old gits we are residents fed up with having to travel outside the area for leisure activities that have general appeal and not for the use of minorities.

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jeebuscripes, Westbourne says...
10:05pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Dump the minority in the IMAX.

Then take the kids swimming.

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dribble, Boscombe says...
10:25pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Hmmm, maybe this is why the large advertising poster on the hoardings on St Swithuns Road, just round the corner from the station explaining how POOLE'S shops are open for late night Christmas shopping with free parking were taken down today..
..
Every time I saw it over the last month or so I smiled at the irony.
..
Did Bournemouth have a similar advert in Poole?

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cardomon, Bournemouth says...
10:32pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Love the fact this story is just above the one about the increase in rats in Bournemouth. Comic timing.

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SFRA, Bournemouth says...
11:19pm Wed 13 Jan 10

Where does Mike Smith get the idea that nothing in Europe compares to Bournemouth and Poole in the way of watersports. The idiot obviously never travels further than the end of his road. Even in the UK we have better facilities in Devon and Cornwall, with some inland waters being far greater and an abundance of water sports. Is Mike Smith going to restrict the useage of the Reef so that everyone can get ago. Christ, we have sacks of sand under the water for tourism, and sacks of wind within the Toursim Office. Bournemouth Tourism is a failure to the community. Get out.

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wonderway, boscombe says...
2:35am Thu 14 Jan 10

perhaps "ASR" will tell Mark Smith that the "surf greef"was only built to work in the winter.will only cost £300,000 for them to nip back. then he had to wait 6 weeks for right wind right swell right tide........right c*ck up to launch it

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alumchineboy2, alumchine says...
8:22am Thu 14 Jan 10

I bet the leader of the council will be reaching for his laptopo looking for the watersport holidays............


and the senior staff on the council who own town centre hotels will also benefit from the ratepayers money being spent advertising their accomodation ?

Great, lots more young teeangers down for weekends on the p**s, just the tourists we need.

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Was Charlie, says...
8:31am Thu 14 Jan 10

I often get people speak to me when I'm out. A little girl, holding a bucket and spade she'd just bought in a nearby shop, was with her family in Poole High Street. She ran up to me with a tearful face and said "We can't find the beach." Told them it was nowhere near the High Street, in spite of shops selling beach stuff, and directly them to the bus station - they'd come by train. Her brother looked even more miserable, and, as they walked away, turned and shouted to me "This is the most boring place we've EVER been!"

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Avengerboy, Bournemouth says...
10:03am Thu 14 Jan 10

Can we 'join' the councils together and save several tens of millions?!!

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MJD, HAMWORTHY says...
10:28am Thu 14 Jan 10

Two 1000lbs bombs together = 1 Atom bomb = Total wipe out.

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AtrocityExhibition, Bournemouth says...
11:40am Thu 14 Jan 10

I imagine lots of people will snigger at the pornographic connection to watersports.

I personally would've gone with "sorry about the smell of urine, but there's really nothing to do around here"

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Mediclogan5, Bournemouth says...
12:05pm Thu 14 Jan 10

You would have thought that Wally Polly..oh sorry Bournemouth University with its HUGE take up of Tourism and Leisure management would produce an ideal candidate for the take up of Councillor Dunlops resignation as Tourism Chief...no takers there and why is that? 3 Officers in 3 years no wonder Bournemouth has plummed the depths to cheap booze, more bars, more clubs and more wasted tax payers money...BECAUSE ITS A CHEAP WAY OF INCOME and dosn't require any IMAGINATION whatsoever...Bournem
outh University Students will fit the post quite nicely then.

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Perry_Winkle, Poole says...
6:11pm Thu 14 Jan 10

"I think the next logical step is for Poole to become part of Bournemouth" - er, no... Bournemouth to become part of Poole!

Why not get rid of Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch and create Wessex City - bucket-loads of savings from getting rid of duplicated (triplicated) jobsworths, not to mention better buying power. Hey - maybe even some joined up thinking!

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upontown, poole says...
8:23pm Thu 14 Jan 10

I'm still trying to figure out just what it is that Poole has to offer...Poole that is not the surrounding area.

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Bournemouth seafront. Picture: Richard Crease, taken with the assistance of Bournemouth Helicopters. Sandbanks beach

Bournemouth seafront. Picture: Richard Crease, taken with the assistance of Bournemouth Helicopters.

Sandbanks beach