A marketing campaign which used the people behind some of Bristol’s leading attractions to promote the city as a short-stay destination brought in £25.7m and created nearly 500 jobs, according to new figures.
Michelin-starred chef Josh Eggleton, co-founder of the pop-up restaurant and food festival, Eat Drink Bristol Fashion, Bristol Old Vic’s artistic director Tom Morris and hot air balloon pilot Jo Bailey were featured in the campaign by Destination Bristol, the organisation tasked with raising the city’s profile to visitors ranging from day-trippers and those staying for short breaks to organisations considering relocating. 
The figures for 2013 highlight the campaign’s success in promoting a wide range of cultural, artistic and family events ranging from Eat, Drink, Bristol Fashion to Bristol’s Comedy Garden in the Queen Square.
They played a part in boosting Bristol’s profile as a popular overnight destination for UK-based visitors, according to the new figures. In total 476 jobs were created.
The campaign was part-funded by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, with £500,000 received at the end of 2012 to market the city and boost tourism as part of a three-year plan.
It forms part of VisitEngland’s Growing Tourism Locally project aimed at inspiring UK residents to take more holidays at home and grow jobs in the county’s tourism sector by more than 9,000 over the three-year period to March 2015.
So far in its second year the project has generated an additional tourism spend of £416m and created 7,744 jobs across the country.
Destination Bristol chief executive John Hirst said: “The marketing managed by Destination Bristol during this period exceeded visitor spend and jobs targets for Bristol, indicating the extremely valuable contribution tourism is making to the local visitor economy.”
VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford, who on a recent visit to Bristol proclaimed it as becoming England’s coolest city, added: “The Growing Tourism Locally project continues to deliver fantastic results, creating jobs and providing a boost for tourism in England by showcasing the high-quality product on offer in England through these creative marketing campaigns.
“It demonstrates the benefits of public and private sector partners working together to stimulate the visitor economy. After a successful first year the project continues to build on this success in its second year, with destinations throughout the country benefiting significantly from this investment.”
Bristol’s campaign was created with Peloton Design based at the city’s Paintworks creative hub and featured adverts in offline and online national and regional media last summer.
