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Poole : The UK's Fastest Growing Tourism Destination

"…Poole is growing faster than any other UK visitor destination and is arguably therefore currently the most successful...", Councillor Mrs Sandra Moore, Vice-Chairman of Poole Tourism Panel, told 100 tourism businesses gathered at their bi-annual Forum held today (6th December 2001) at Poole’s Salterns Hotel.

The recent announcement that the ‘Express by Holiday Inn’ is seeking planning approval for an additional 40 rooms, within a year of opening, means the number of hotel rooms in Poole is set to double within 5 years. It is anticipated that by 2005 there should be 1000 rooms available.

What is more, recently released tourism research shows that Poole is easily maintaining its place at the top of the league table of Dorset’s hotel occupancy figures.  This indicates that these new hotels are bringing welcome additional business rather than taking existing trade.  It is estimated that a direct income to the town from all these additional rooms is already generating in excess of £10 million per year in tourism.

Graham Richardson, Tourism Manager, Borough of Poole, said: "We have scoured the UK map for evidence of anywhere that could be achieving anything like the same growth rates that we have experienced in Poole.  With the opening of the new Poole Quay Yacht Haven, an increasingly attractive programme of special events and the rapid development and extension of Poole Quay's waterfront, I think we can all have confidence that the growth is set to continue."

Poole Tourism attributes the success to three main factors:

• capturing business previously lost due to insufficient hotel rooms in Poole
• high profile marketing campaigns over recent years as Poole has become widely dubbed the St Tropez of the South Coast
• new developments with a massive momentum behind the regeneration of the Quay and Town Centre areas

Detailed schedule of ADDITIONAL hotel rooms in Poole: Express by Holiday Inn - opened 11/00 85; Express by Holiday Inn - proposed 11/01 40; Travel Inn - opened 96 40; Travel Inn - extension 98 22; Shah of Persia - rooms opened 99 15; Premier Lodge opened 04/01 126; Sandbanks Hotel - additional rooms 98 11; Mansion House - additional rooms 99 4; Arndale Court - additional rooms 99 7; Canford Magna - planning approved due to start build 4/02 67; Hotels adding less than 3 rooms 2

Graham Richardson, Tourism Manager, Borough of Poole, tel: (01202) 262677