County's tourism websites get new operators

Some of the county's tourism areas include Branksome Chine Beach in Bournemouth

A county's official tourism websites and social media are set to be taken over by new operators.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council is stepping back from Bournemouth and Poole's tourism websites and moving away from destination marketing.

The Destination Management Board (DMB) and Christchurch Town Council have now set up "Bournemouth and Poole Tourism", which will take over the marketing of the websites and social media.

Andy Lennox, chair of the BCP Destination Management Board said the sites will also be managed by local agency Soul Motion, adding this will "mark a new exciting chapter for tourism" in different parts of Dorset.

"It has been an incredibly difficult couple of years for destination marketing and tourism after the removal of funding from BCP Council," he said.

"The DMB has managed to save the websites from being closed thanks to the partnership with Soul Motion and now the new DMO will be led by business for business - I truly hope everyone supports it by taking a partnership opportunity".

Some of the changes to the websites will include more business listings and business profile pages, as well as more advertising and promotion of local tourism hotspots and itineraries, guides and marketing campaigns.

BCP has made other changes after slashing millions from its budget while dealing with a huge deficit for its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services.

Last year, the council said it would no longer fund the annual four-day Bournemouth Air Festival before then announcing in June this year that it would not be held in August.

The operator that was expected to run the event on a 10-year contract pulled out of talks over plans to close the promenade and seafront between the piers - which the council said it legally could not do.

The council also said its net budget for the festival had gone from £300,000 in 2019 to £400,000 by 2022.