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Bristol ’ s Wake The Tiger is an undoubted success story . The immersive art-based visitor attraction has welcomed over 250,000 visitors through its door since launching in 2021 . As well as revitalising a large empty retail unit and supporting local artists in the process , the attraction now is a key part of the city ’ s visitor economy .
2023 analysis conducted by Bristol Business Improvement District saw the city accomplish a 40 % increase in footfall compared to previous quarters , while evening economy spending rocketed to £ 35.7 million - a 14 % increase on Q1 .
While leisure isn ’ t the only factor of this success , it has played a significant role in changing consumer behaviour in Bristol . It ’ s given residents and tourists a reason to visit the city . In a world where we have more choice of retail products at our fingertips than we do on our high street , leisure helps drive importance , spend and footfall back to our high streets .
Across the rest of the UK , the outlook is much more bleak . Year-on-year footfall has decreased across high streets ( 2.3 %), retail parks ( 1.8 %) and shopping centres ( 5 %). Retail on its own simply isn ’ t pulling its weight .
On the flip side , leisure still hasn ’ t yet been embraced to its full potential , leaving many within the leisure industry scratching their heads as to why .
Here in the UK , we have retail estate owners wanting footfall increases , councils prioritising placemaking , leisure operators looking for locations , industry designers with ready-togo themed attraction concepts and millions of consumers waiting at home for the right experience to come along .
Sitting in silos trying to fight the same fight is killing our high streets , as we ponder what action to take next . And yet , a small spin of the axis is all it takes to create an attractive magnetic relationship .
Experience the vibrant and immersive world of Wake The Tiger in Bristol
● www . marketingderby . co . uk / news / 2020-7-22 -build-back-better-build-back-different /
● www . visitbritain . org / news-and-media / visitbritainupgrades-2023-inbound-tourism-forecast-backstronger-recovery-driven
● www . centreforcities . org / data / high-streets-recovery-tracker /
● www . bristolcitycentrebid . co . uk / news / bristol-city-centre-sees-strong-quarterly-growth /
● www . brc . org . uk / news / corporate-affairs / new-year-same-story-for-retail-footfall /
● www . forbes . com / sites / jefffromm / 2023 / 11 / 09 / gen-z-and-affluent-consumers-are-re-shaping-theexperience-economy /? sh = 4a8080ae1a44 in partnership with www . katapult . co . uk
Experience on Main Street Guide 2024
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