Market gives city economy festive boost

All the figures about the most recent Christmas market in Bath have been released.

Love it or hate it, you cannot deny the event has its upsides.

Organisers Visit Bath and The South West Research Company have released the figures from the 2018 Christmas market.

But how successful was it?

■■ More than 400,000 people attended Bath Christmas Market over the 18-day period, the majority being adult groups of UK residents. ■■ The direct spend at Bath Christmas Market in 2018 was over £7 million.

■■ The total associated spend in the market and across the city was over £30 million.

■■ 27 per cent of visitors are staying rather than visiting for the day - this is a 4 per cent increase since 2017 and an 8 per cent increase since 2014.

Craig Jenkins, executive chairman of Visit Bath, said: “Visitors’ satisfaction levels for Bath Christmas Market remain high and the event continues to be of huge economic benefit to Bath.

“Over half of the people surveyed were returning visitors from previous years so we are building a dedicated following for this event, putting it firmly in many people’s social calendar.

“The market’s extension into Milsom Street received lots of positive feedback from residents, visitors, stallholders and local retailers.

“We are delighted to see that more visitors are staying in the city for longer as this is one of the primary focuses of our marketing activity.”

In 2018, Bath Christmas Market dedicated one chalet to a different local charity per day for the duration of the Market. A total of 18 charities signed up to be involved, they were listed in the Bath at Christmas Guide, which was distributed to 60,000 people and local businesses and they collectively raised more than £10,000.

Many of these charities, such as Mentoring Plus and Bath Food Cycle, see an upsurge in demand of their services over the Christmas period, so building awareness about charities during the festive period is imperative.

Lynne Fernquest, CEO of Bath Rugby Foundation, which uses sport and education to change the lives of vulnerable children and young people in Bath, found the chalet to be of great benefit to the charity.

Lynne said: “We raised around £1,000 in just one day for our charity.

“This was an amazing day for us as we were able to take advantage of the huge success of Bath Christmas Market for the benefit of the disadvantaged young people we work with.”