A Visitor Strategy for

SherborneSherborneSherborneSherborne Dorset’s Darling �

Proposals for

A Three Year Plan of Action

2012 – 2015

2

Index

Foreword 3

Background 4

Analysis: Sherborne’s Assets 6

Analysis: Current Visitors 7

The Opportunity 7

Aims: What type of tourism 8

A Visitor Strategy for Sherborne

1) The Sherborne Experience 9

2) The Sherborne Message 12

3) The Sherborne Dimension 15

Conclusion 16

Prepared by Roger Johnson, Chairman of Sherborne Tourism Forum with input from

the Forum and Sherborne Chamber of Trade & Commerce. Roger Johnson is a

destination marketing consultant and spent nearly thirty years with the British

Tourist Authority and VisitBritain.

3

Foreword

Sherborne is a delightful, small historic town in the north-

west of Dorset with a population of about 10,000 people.

Dominated by its abbey, it has many fine buildings of

architectural note as well as two castles, one from the

twelfth century, now in ruins, and the other, the ‘new’ castle, dating from the

early 1600s.

The economic activity of the town is largely based on three activities:

education, retail and tourism.

There has been a school in Sherborne since the time of King Alfred and

Sherborne School, one of five notable public schools, was founded in 1550.

The town also has eight state primary schools and takes pride in its

outstanding secondary school, The Gryphon. Education is a major employer

in Sherborne and the number of young people under 18 in the town, at 27%,

exceeds the Dorset average by several percentage points.

Shopping in Sherborne has traditionally offered a varied and interesting

experience with a higher than average number of independent shops

(although this has been eroding over the last few years). Approximately 120

shops cluster around the main thoroughfare, Cheap Street, and there is a

good selection of tea-shops, coffee houses, pubs and restaurants.

As one of the three main economic drivers of the town, tourism has generally

been left to its own devices, with little official attention and scant regard to

its potential value to the town. However, Sherborne Town Council now wishes

to take a more focused and proactive stance on this activity. The following

outline of a possible Visitor Development Plan is therefore intended as a

discussion document to enable Town Councillors and other interested parties

to debate this subject and to enable decisions to be made concerning the

level of engagement that might be undertaken.

Roger Johnson

Chairman

Sherborne Tourism Forum June 2012

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Background

Tourism is often considered to be a peripheral or light-weight activity, not

part of the serious business of running an important industry or enterprise.

Ask someone going up to London for the day if they are a tourist and the

answer will inevitably be no. Ask a businessman going off on a business trip

if he is a tourist and the answer will emphatically be no. However, whether

you plan and book your trip independently or whether you like to travel with

like-minded people, everyone who leaves home for leisure or business

purposes is part of the UK’s fifth largest industry – the visitor economy.

An idea of the value and volume of Dorset’s own visitor economy can be

assessed as follows1:

The total value of tourism to Dorset was estimated at £1,426 million in 2010

and given the trend information available since then this figure is likely to

have remained fairly static.

In the same study, it was calculated that Dorset received 3.2 million staying

visits with 13.5 million accommodation nights, plus 16 million day visits,

approximately equal to a 16% share of all visits and 15% of all nights spent in

the South West region.

1 2010 figures

Total Spend (£m)

17%

23%

15%

12%

15%

9% 9%

Cornwall Devon Dorset Somerset Former Avon Gloucestershire Wiltshire

5

This study also provides an indication of the visitor value and volume for

West Dorset as follows2:

These figures represent a total value of £254 million for West Dorset, made

up from 595,200 staying visits and just over 3 million day visits.

West Dorset’s visitor economy supports over 5,800 jobs or 14% of

employment which is fairly consistent with the rest of the county.

Where is the visitor income spent?

The adjacent table provides a

breakdown of the business sectors

that benefit.

Finally, the study indicates that visitors from overseas make up 9.5% of all

staying visitor numbers in Dorset although these visitors are higher

spending, accounting for 22% of total staying visitor spend. They account for

1.7% of all trips, including day trips, and 10% of all spend.

All of this must lead us to surmise that visitors to Sherborne benefit the local

economy to a considerable degree and provides a good indication of how we

might optimise and extend this business.

2 2010 figures

Total Spend ('000)

29%

6%

7% 5% 13%

12%

18%

10%

Bournemouth Christchurch East Dorset North Dorset Poole

Purbeck West Dorset Weymouth

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

%

Shopping

Food & Drink

Accommodation

Attractions

Transport

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Analysis: Sherborne’s assets

Why would anyone visit Sherborne? The answer to this seems fairly self-

evident, reflecting Sherborne’s main points of interest. Visitor attractions

centre on the Abbey and the Castle; both of these historic buildings are at

the centre of the majority of visits to the town. Added to this, Sherborne is

fortunate in having a broad range of historic buildings of varying styles and

periods that create the character and feel of the town: the Almshouse and its

Chapel, the Museum, the Conduit, the Abbey Gate, Sherborne School and

many examples of half-timbered and golden-coloured Ham stone buildings.

On the edges of the town are the Old Castle and the Sherborne Steam &

Waterwheel Museum. Sadly, the town has lost one of its other potential

attractions and Sherborne House can no longer be included in this list.

Sherborne is also known for its fine range of independent shops. These

complement and add to the town’s appeal, providing a shopping experience

that is different from and more unusual than most others.

There is a good choice of eating options for visitors to the town. Not many

towns of this size can offer so many tea-shops and coffee houses, a varied

assortment of pubs and bistros and even a choice of top-quality restaurants.

Accommodation is possibly less plentiful but there is something for everyone

including the award-winning Eastbury Hotel, the larger Sherborne Hotel,

capable of accommodating groups, plus a variety of guest-houses and B&Bs.

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Analysis: Current visitors

Without carrying out expensive research on this subject, it is only possible to

make some educated guesses as to the type of visitor coming to Sherborne,

based on the enquiries received at the Tourist Information Office and the

feedback from members of the Sherborne Tourism Forum, including

accommodation providers.

This would seem to indicate that most visitors to Sherborne come on day

trips, some by coach and others independently, some specifically visiting

Sherborne for the day but others including the town as part of a touring

holiday. Generally speaking, most visitors seem to be couples or small

groups of friends rather than families. Most are attracted by the town’s

history and heritage, some by its shopping and yet others by events being

held in the town or nearby – or a combination of these.

The opportunity

More visitors to Sherborne will stimulate the local economy

o Visitors spend money in the local shops, ensuring their viability for

local people

o Visitors spend money on eating and drinking, helping to support a

good variety of catering establishments

More visitors to Sherborne will ensure the provision of accommodation

facilities

o Hotels provide meeting facilities for local organisations and event

infrastructure for local events

o Hotels provide additional catering options and special events for the

town

More visitors to Sherborne will help support local events

o Events large and small add to Sherborne’s interest and vitality

o Events that draw in visitors are more likely to succeed

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At present, there is no proactive visitor plan for Sherborne, there is no active

promotion, there is no agreed development framework. Sherborne accepts

whatever visitors it gets, without trying to influence the visitor’s ‘Sherborne

experience’, without trying to influence repeat visits or visits by like-minded

potential visitors.

The opportunities to be grasped include:

1) To get existing day visitors to stay

2) To get existing staying visitors to stay longer

3) To get feedback from existing visitors to understand what makes a

positive impression and what does not

4) To improve and extend the Sherborne ‘experience’

5) To work in partnership with those who can offer and promote

Sherborne, that is, the travel industry

6) To work in partnership with synergistic destinations and attractions

7) To raise awareness of Sherborne, creating story-lines for the town

throughout the year

8) To ensure Sherborne is visible to its potential audience, whether

online or through traditional media

9) To ensure Sherborne is connected inextricably to West Dorset and

thence to Dorset

10) To ensure the essence of Sherborne is distilled into a recognisable

brand

Aims – what type of tourism

Based on Sherborne’s key attractions, it is recommended that the following

types of visitors are targeted:

a) Leisure independent visitors – both day visitors and touring

b) Leisure group visitors – both day visitors and touring

c) Special interest events visitors

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A Visitor Strategy for Sherborne

It is recommended that Sherborne adopts a three-part strategy. It is for the

Town Council to decide what weight it puts behind each part but the more

thought and effort put into the first part, the more successful the other two

parts are likely to be. Having said that, it is not necessary to complete these

recommendations in any chronological order; an ad hoc approach may be

adopted according to the resources that are available.

The three parts or stages are as follows:

1) The Sherborne Experience

What is it like to be a visitor in Sherborne? What impressions jump out? Is it a

pleasant, enjoyable experience or one that is really not worth repeating?

These are the questions that need to be answered if Sherborne is to take the

subject of visitors seriously; a good experience will encourage repeat visitors

and spread the delights of visiting Sherborne by word-of-mouth, the most

effective marketing or promotion that is possible.

This first stage involves analysing the visitor experience and considering

what infrastructure or product issues need to be addressed. It involves

considering all of the visitor needs and ensuring that these are not just

satisfied in some random manner but that they are thoroughly satisfied and

then exceeded.

Members of both the Chamber of Trade and the Tourism Forum have been

consulted on this subject and the following is the resulting compilation of

visitor needs that have been identified. These have been divided into

infrastructure and product and are presented in no particular order; that is to

say, their importance for the visitor, their affordability and even their

feasibility have not been ranked or taken into consideration. It is for the

Town Council to consider these suggestions and to decide whether they can

address some of the issues easily in the short-term and whether others

might become part of a more long-term plan for the town.

Infrastructural issues:

a) Public toilets

These are often a visitor’s first or last impression of the town, located as

they are by the main public car parks. Unfortunately, the standard of

Sherborne’s public toilets falls well below that of many other towns. They

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are certainly not in keeping with the idea of a lovely market town that is a

delight to visit.

b) Coach drop-off and pick-up points

Many coach trips cater for elderly visitors who would like to be dropped

as close as possible to the main attraction or town centre. Ideally, there

would be provision for a coach

drop-off and pick-up point near

the Abbey, perhaps by the

Tourist Office. This would allow a

10 minute drop-off time and 15-

minute pick-up time so that

visitors can access the Abbey

easily, walk past the Museum to

Cheap Street and then return,

without having a long walk up

from the Culverhayes car park and then back again. This encourages

elderly visitors to see more in a less tiring way.

c) Car Parking : signs and parking charge payments

Car Parking areas are quite good but not always easy to find; there needs

to be better sign-posting for visitors e.g. going along Long Street from

the Conduit there is nothing to tell you there is a car-park on your right

at Culverhayes.

The system of paying at the car parks – i.e. estimating how long you

might want to stay in advance - does not encourage visitors to linger.

Without knowing the town, a visitor might estimate a couple of hours to

visit the Abbey but then find that the shops are interesting and discover a

nice place for lunch, but then be discouraged from staying as it would

mean going back to the car park and putting in more money. A more

visitor-friendly system would be a Pay-as-you-go system whereby the

driver takes a ticket and pays whatever is due on departure i.e. there are

no time constraints. Understandably, this would mean investment in a

closed parking area and new pay machines but at least this might be

considered for the more-distant Culverhayes car park (it would also stop

the rat-run between Long Street and Sainsbury’s).

d) Signage

Sherborne’s black and white pedestrian signs are very smart and on the

whole most informative, in the right places. However, once again, there

needs to be better signage from the car parks and from the train station

where there is little to direct visitors to the town centre / abbey.

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e) Approaches to Sherborne

This is an aspect of Sherborne’s attractiveness that could be improved.

The actual “Sherborne” town signs are very attractive but they are barely

legible from a moving car. A bolder, more striking sign would make a

stronger statement.

Of more concern are the decidedly unattractive “Sherborne” flower beds at

each end of the A30. These look neglected, are full of weeds, and depict a

very unfavourable image of the town. Either these need to be carefully

tended or perhaps assigned to local garden groups or service clubs to

care for.

The approach on the A30 from Yeovil is beset by traffic signs, there must

be at least twenty in the last half-mile approaching the traffic lights. Such

a proliferation of signs makes it feel more like the approach to an

American mid-West town. There must be a way of positioning a number

of signs together at regular intervals.

There has been a proposal that the Town Council might consider an

avenue of trees on one of the approaches to Sherborne and it would seem

that this very broad stretch of dual carriageway could be immediately

enhanced by the judicious planting of trees on either side of the A30 in

this final approach to Sherborne.

f) Litter

On the whole, the litter situation in Sherborne has improved and the town

looks quite tidy but of course there must always be a constant effort to

do better. Litter breeds more litter and it would be useful to monitor the

worst offending areas or times of the day / week e.g. around the “fast-

food alley” on A30 or late Fridays and Saturdays. Any regular patterns of

littering could then be tackled.

g) Markets

The regular markets that take place in the town, particularly the twice-

weekly street market and the monthly farmers’ market add to the bustle

and liveliness of the town – always a positive attraction for visitors. It is to

be regretted, however, that the vendors' vehicles are allowed to park on

Cheap Street during the Thursday/Saturday market, unlike on the

Farmers’ Market day. This line of vehicles immediately cuts Cheap Street

in two, it is unsightly and detracts from the general pleasant atmosphere.

This could be easily solved.

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Product gaps:

h) Maps

The current town map available from the Tourist Office is fairly basic and

does not do justice to the town. Obviously there is a question of cost here

as maps can be expensive to produce. Perhaps a self-financing map

could be considered with advertisements from local businesses around

the perimeter of the map.

i) Tourist trails

In order to optimise the visitors’

stay, in order to make them want

to stay for as long as possible or

to return for a future visit, it is

necessary to whet their appetites

and give them ideas of what to

see and do. Tourist trails could be

developed on a one, two and

three day basis so that they get as

much out of the visit as possible.

These could be fairly simple

sheets that can be photocopied as

and when required. Similarly,

special interest trails could also

be offered.

j) Sherborne cards, notelets, book

Despite the huge artistic talent there is in Sherborne, it is nonetheless

difficult to find good Sherborne souvenirs. In particular, it is almost

impossible to find a picture book or history book on Sherborne. Cards or

notelets with Sherborne illustrations are also difficult to find apart from

the obvious Abbey / Castle post-cards. This is a business opportunity for

someone and could be fostered through photographic or painting

competitions. (A recent photographic exhibition of Sherborne’s shops

contained some excellent images, most suitable for this purpose.)

2) The Sherborne message (Promoting Sherborne)

With a limited budget it is important to focus on the most effective marketing

tools to reach identified target groups and to work in partnership with

synergistic destinations and organisations (e.g. West Dorset, other market

towns, National Trust).

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There are three key areas of activity that should be considered:

a) Public Relations

b) Travel Industry Relations

c) Consumer Marketing

These three areas are described below and a more detailed menu of costed

activities is provided in a separate business plan.

a)a)a)a) Public RelationsPublic RelationsPublic RelationsPublic Relations

Public Relations and media activity is the most cost-effective way to raise

awareness of a destination.

A series of press releases should be issued throughout the year to

targeted media, underlining the key messages relating to Sherborne.

These need to be supported by quality images related to the topic.

Hosted media visits are highly desirable and every effort should be made

to have Sherborne included in press visits being organised by VisitBritain

or VisitEngland, either directly or through West Dorset or Purbeck.

Simultaneously, relations should be fostered with Dorset media outlets,

especially magazines.

Online media activity should also be considered such as the setting up

and maintenance of Sherborne pages on Facebook and Twitter.

b)b)b)b) Travel Industry RelationsTravel Industry RelationsTravel Industry RelationsTravel Industry Relations

Regular contact should be made with UK tour operators and coach

companies. In cases where Sherborne is not featured as part of a South-

West tour or a Dorset tour, assistance should be provided to make that

possible.

This might result from simply making them aware of the attractions of

Sherborne, providing incentives such as free coach parking or free lunch

for the driver, helping with itinerary planning or assistance with brochure

production.

Regional tour companies also need to receive regular information from

Sherborne suggesting day itineraries, special events, and seasonal

activities. Regular newsletters keep Sherborne front-of-mind and provide

ready-made suggestions for the tour companies’ clients, the clubs or

groups interested in a day out.

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c)c)c)c) Consumer MarketingConsumer MarketingConsumer MarketingConsumer Marketing

This is the area that needs most care as potentially it is the most

expensive activity.

Traditionally, this will include advertising – currently this is the only

expenditure undertaken by the Town Council through its annual

advertisement in West Dorset’s consumer guide. There may be scope for

a presence in other specialist or regional publications.

Today, it is highly unlikely that a marketing strategy would not have

strong online and social media components. This usually centres on a

strong, informative website and destination websites are presented

dynamically through the use of photos, maps, videos and constantly

updated content. The website must be easily found through search

engine optimisation techniques and other online tools such as linking,

blogging and online PR placement.

There are currently two websites dedicated to Sherborne. One is the

official website www.sherbornetown.com which is a general information

repository for the town, not a promotional destination site. The other is

the unofficial www.sherbornedorset.co.uk which aims to provide a more

colourful promotional site for Sherborne but which lacks the resource to

make it truly dynamic.

Consideration should be given to developing one of these sites, or an off-

shoot of one of the sites so that the online potential for promoting

Sherborne is truly captured.

Furthermore, a Sherborne presence on Facebook or Twitter should also be

considered as this is a way of connecting to wider audiences and also to

specialist online media.

3) The Sherborne Dimension

Sherborne’s attractions are excellent and inevitably delight visitors but they

are static and unlikely to change. Even the advent of a Community Arts

Centre is unlikely to attract visitors for its own sake; it is essentially a facility

for the town. However, the one dynamic feature that does add to Sherborne’s

attraction and that creates the vibrancy and ambience that appeal to visitors

is the use that these attractions and buildings are put to. In short, the events

taking place in Sherborne.

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It is a well proven fact that events move people. From the blockbuster art

exhibitions in our cities that attract thousands of visitors from around the

country as well as overseas to the small events taking place in towns and

villages – they all attract visitors.

This overall strategy to attract visitors to Sherborne would not be complete

without a serious look at what a Sherborne Events Strategy might be.

Sherborne is extremely fortunate in having a large number of clubs and

societies that are responsible for all sorts of activities in the town. However, a

busy town diary is not the same as a planned Events Strategy. Consideration

has to be given to the timing and the feasibility of events, to the

practicalities, the ownership and even the appropriateness of these events.

But Sherborne already has all of the required elements for a very effective

Events programme.

Consider the events that already take place, that have already been fully

developed or still have potential to grow:

Sherborne Abbey Music Festival early May

Sherborne School of Music August

Sherborne International Film Festival late October

Consider the events that could easily be extended or coordinated and shaped

into something more impressive:

Sherborne in Bloom ) = Sherborne Gardening Festival

The Hidden Gardens of Sherborne )

Various Arts activities and shows = Sherborne Arts Extravaganza

Christmas Shopping Day = Sherborne Christmas Festival

Consider the events that are already planned for 2012 or could be developed

at some stage in the future:

Sherborne Literary Festival late September

Sherborne Food and Drink Festival for consideration

Sherborne Act ONE (a festival of acting) for consideration

All of these bar two either happen already in some shape

or form or are planned to take place. A coordinated plan with some

underlying sponsorship from the Council and businesses in the town would

enhance Sherborne’s appeal, raise awareness of the town and increase the

number of visitors through a well publicised programme.

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Conclusion

Sherborne is the perfect example of the stereotypical lovely little English

country town that many people visualise. Its historic buildings give it charm

and its relaxed pace is attractive to visitors. These visitors play an important

part in the town’s economy and this could be bolstered through fairly modest

investment in a targeted tourism business plan.

The three parts of this proposal cover all aspects of a visitor strategy,

improving the visitor experience, reaching the consumer with your message

and providing reasons to come again and again.

It is unlikely that there will be sufficient resources to undertake all of the

menu of activities included in the attached activity plan and therefore it is

intended as a ‘pick and mix’ list of options. Prioritisation, coordination and

partnership and should be the guiding principles. The various costs of

delivering the plan are also outlined in the plan. Sherborne deserves to be

‘Dorset’s Darling’ but that recognition requires the full support of the Town

Council and its partners.