Tourism woes
Two venues to stay closed until 2021
A Bath art gallery and a museum will stay shut until 2021 while efforts are made to fill the £470 million hole in tourism income caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Tourists visiting Bath generated the huge figure in 2019 for the local economy and Bath figureheads are now trying to find ways to bring in extra, alternative revenue.
That revenue won’t come from the Fashion Museum and the Victoria Art Gallery, however, as they will remain closed until April, Councillor Paul Crossley said at a virtual Bath tourism meeting on July 9.
Mr Crossley, cabinet member for community services, said the art gallery and museum were staying shut as they would “run at a loss” if they stayed open in the current climate.
But Visit Bath, Bath MP Wera Hobhouse, Bath and North East Somerset Council, and more, are trying to find new ways for tourism to boost the economy.
At the Zoom meeting, Kathryn Davis, interim CEO at Visit Bath, outlined the challenges ahead for the Bath tourism scene.
“Bath is the number one destination for wellbeing in the UK,” she said.
“That USP was taken away from us by the pandemic.
“We have the number one spa destination and the spa cannot be opened.
“There are half as many international visitors as domestic ones but the spend is about the same (for when they visit Bath). “We have to try and get people to stay for days. A huge number of people travel to Bath by train and less people are using the park and ride too. “This time is about supporting one another.”
Barry Gilbertson, City of Bath World Heritage Steering Group chairman, re-emphasised the importance of getting people to stay for a number of days in Bath. “Figures from 2018 reveal that the staying visitor pays £225 per head on average and the day visitor spends £38 per head on average,” he said at the meeting.
On the Fashion Museum’s website, it states it is scheduled to reopen at Easter in 2021 and although the site won’t be open the museum’s team will deliver interactive exhibitions and online resources across its digital platforms.
Mr Crossley has explained why the museum and art gallery would remain closed.
“It would be very difficult to get a one-way system at both places and ensure the health and safety of staff and customers,” he said.
“We would have to have far less people inside but more staff to oversee it all so we are concentrating our efforts on Bath’s main attractions, such as the Roman Baths.
“Twenty per cent of tourists visit the Baths so we have to work with that. We don’t want to run up a debt with the museum and art gallery.”
The meeting was attended by dozens of people and many offered ideas, advice, and the suggestion of future meet-ups and brainstorming over how to address this tourism issue.
❝ Bath is the number one destination for wellbeing in the UK – that USP was taken away from us by the pandemic Kathryn Davis, Visit Bath