Bath Christmas Market Sees Biggest Increase in Staying Visitors in 18-Year History and Raises over £10,000 for Local Charities

Results of the Bath Christmas Market survey, commissioned by Visit Bath and conducted by The South West Research Company, show an uplift in visitors staying in the city for one night or more. 27% of visitors are staying rather than visiting for the day – this is a 4% increase since 2017 and an 8% increase since 2014.

Executive Chairman of Visit Bath, Craig Jenkins 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.”

Over 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.

This year, Bath Christmas Market dedicated one chalet to a different local charity per day for the duration of the Market. Eighteen 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.”