11 September 2012

We don’t care what the weatherman says

It may have been a soggy summer but the double-dip recession, grey skies and rainfall didn’t stop our clients from bucking the trend and experiencing a successful season.

Back in July, the Museum of Liverpool celebrated its first birthday by announcing that it had exceeded its initial 12 month target of 750,000 visitors by 500,000 to reach 1.261 million. Director, Janet Dugdale revealed that this figure comprised 50% of visitors from Merseyside – right in the heart of LDS Tourism Services’ distribution area.

The Llangollen International Eisteddfod sold nearly 2,000 more concert tickets than last year. The event’s Music Director, Elir Owen Griffiths, commented to the Daily Post: “We can safely say that Llangollen International Eisteddfod is back on its feet financially and withstood weather conditions, unlike other festivals.”

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power celebrated its “biggest and best ever” gala in spite of the dismal weather. Thousands of petrolheads turned out to enjoy even more supercars, helicopters, powerboats and interactive features than ever before. James Hall, the event director, was quoted in the local newspaper as saying: “The Pageant has well and truly secured its place as Britain’s most thrilling and most interactive day out.”

Thousands attended the seventh Wirral Food and Drink Festival at Claremont Farm during the August Bank Holiday. Over 20,000 people poured into the site over two days without regard to the mud and rain. The festival’s organiser, Andrew Pimbley, confirmed that the event was an enormous success.

There were “record-breaking crowds” at the 21st Southport Air Show earlier this month when 150,000 spectators were treated to breathtaking aerial displays. Tony Corfield, head of tourism at Sefton Council told the Southport Visiter: “It was a phenomenal success. With a combination of strong displays and good weather, we were actually at capacity on [the] Sunday – the car parks were full and we even used all the reserve car parks.”

Even those of our clients hardest hit by the bad weather, rising fuel costs and the ‘Olympic effect’ appear to have lured a significant number of holidaymakers throughout the season. For instance, Peter Furniss from Llangollen Wharf was quoted in the Denbighshire Free Press as saying: “Business has not been as bad as it might have been. We’re very weather dependant, but the weather has improved slightly since the schools broke up, which is good.”

If you run an attraction within our service area we would love to hear from you. Let us know how the rains and recession of 2012 effected your business. If you would like us to organise your distribution and display campaign in 2013, please ring us on 01244 671859 or drop us a line at lds@ldsts.co.uk.

Image: Clouds, © Copyright Free Photos 2012

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