'Disappointing' visitor figures on Weymouth Tower could have bearing on future

11:30am Friday 4th January 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Joanna Davis

FIVE-YEAR DEAL: ‘There are lessons to be learned,’ says Weymouth Sealife Tower general manager Craig Dunkerley FIVE-YEAR DEAL: ‘There are lessons to be learned,’ says Weymouth Sealife Tower general manager Craig Dunkerley

‘DISAPPOINTING’ visitor figures to the £3.5million Weymouth Tower could have a bearing on its long-term future, its manager said.

General manager Craig Dunkerley said the resort’s newest tourist attraction didn’t attract as many visitors during the Olympics as anticipated.

Although Merlin Entertainments, which runs the 53m (173ft) tower, would not give attendance figures, Mr Dunkerley said visitor numbers for the summer of 2012 were ‘disappointing’.

He said warnings issued by Olympic organisers ahead of the Games about traffic congestion were partly to blame for people staying away.

Mr Dunkerley said: “The numbers coming to the tower have been below expectations.

“People were thinking they weren’t going to go to Weymouth during the Games because they thought the whole place would be in meltdown.

“Last year was a bad year for tourism.

“Yes, the summer was poor but it’s been and gone and things are looking up for this year.

“We all hope it will be a good year.”

Mr Dunkerley said visits to the other Merlin-owned attractions in Weymouth - the land train and the Sea Life Park - were also down.

Figures showed that the expected 30,000 to 60,000 visitors to Weymouth which were predicted by Olympics organisers never materialised.

The Bayside Festival – sited on the same Pavilion peninsula as the tower – closed on August 3 last year because of lower than expected visitor numbers.

Concerns have been raised with Weymouth and Portland Borough Council about the poor summer, Mr Dunkerley said.

“I’ve now been asking: ‘What’s the plan to drive the footfall?’ “You talk to some of the local businesses that aren’t supported by a big company like we are – that’s their whole living that’s been affected,” he added.

The Weymouth Tower was given planning permission to remain on the Pavilion site for five years after it was put up in June 2012.

Mr Dunkerley said: “The visitor numbers will have a bearing on what happens after the five years are up.

“We always said we had a longer term commitment but we will be talking to the council.

“There are so many factors that will affect the commercial sustainability.

“It’s too early to say anything about the long-term future. We’re focusing on the positive side of it this year.

“Tower staff are working with the Weymouth Business Improvement District (BID) to attract more visitors in 2013. We cannot change what’s happened but there have been lots of lessons learned. We’ve spent a lot of money and we need to carry on with it. The hard work starts now,” Mr Dunkerley added.

He said ticket prices are reviewed every year and will be reviewed for the coming season. Entry to the tower for adults or children currently costs £8.10 each, or £5.67 each if booked online in advance.

Comments(21)

-Wingl- says...
12:05pm Fri 4 Jan 13

Really? Expect more disappointment then. Personally, I believe it to be in the wrong location. Being Weymouth. As currently, there's nothing of similar interest around it. I'd expect the figures to be near zero when the Pavilion is levelled too (unless you like looking at demolition sites). Plus, you can go to the Nothe or Portland and rotate by yourself to see a better (cheaper) view.

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islandman says...
12:14pm Fri 4 Jan 13

Having been privy to this information yesterday, I have subsequently submitted a letter to the Echo where I almost accuse Merlin's representative of being half-hearted or economical with the truth when quoting admission charges.

In all things where criticism is levied, it is good if a constructive suggestion is made and this I have done. Again, we will have to see if the Echo uses my letter.

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Mr_Blue_Sky says...
12:26pm Fri 4 Jan 13

Of course any idiot can see that non-seasonally adjusted prices are part of the problem.

In the winter, they need to lower the price to attract locals...

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Mr Peter Melon says...
12:27pm Fri 4 Jan 13

How very strange that is. I went up the tower during the Olmpics and the staff there were saying that the numbers of people visiting it were higher than they ever hoped for and that it had been a resounding success. They seemed very genuine to me and not saying what they been told to say

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connie68 says...
2:08pm Fri 4 Jan 13

Im not going to say "I told you so" opps i have..

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terra firma says...
4:29pm Fri 4 Jan 13

My thoughts having taken a trip on the 'carbunkle on the quay' was that it was over no sooner than I got on, and hardly worth the effort.
It rapidly reached the height where it rotated just twice before descending equally quickly to the ground, leaving little time to adjust to the surroundings and pick out locations.
I know the Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower is static, but it does represent value for money in this respect, and has a cafe at the top into the bargain.
While it is too late to re-think the latter, perhaps allowing more time / revolutions up there might attract more wanting to take the views in.

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Crabber says...
10:31pm Fri 4 Jan 13

In respect of the above comment , so waht your saying in the 2nd paragraph is its a bit like sex then lol .The Spinnaker Tower has a broken lift., Twas a stupid place to put it for a start and now low & behold not many visitors so the money can be stowed away and they can tell the taxman they made an operational loss. Again I won't say you were warned .... OH B*GG** I did

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portlandresident says...
12:26pm Sat 5 Jan 13

And the council want to cut the Tourist Information service! That's one of the last remaining services which actually help promote Weymouth and tell visitors where to spend their money, and ultimately help the local economy. They help the local economy by helping visitors and locals identifty the best places to spend their cash. Without that, attractions like the tower will be gone in no time, and Weymouth will be even more dead than it is already.

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DickDastardly says...
10:45am Wed 9 Jan 13

Level it and put a car park there. It is the way forward apparently and we all know tourists love car parks.

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woodsedge says...
12:42pm Wed 9 Jan 13

So, whose great idea was it to put what looks like a nuclear chimney on the end of the promenade in what can best be described as a run down car park/ ferry terminal (when and if the the harbour wall is repaired) and expect it to make money!! This pink elephant is only equal in status to the floating dog turd sculptures on the relief road. Where is the vision for the seafront and a cohesive joined up planning strategy? IS THE FUTURE FOR WEYMOUTH A FAMILY SEASIDE DESTINATION OR PUT YOUR CARDS ON THE TABLE AND LET THE LOCAL RESIDENTS KNOW ITS A MINI BLACKPOOL!!

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Artstudent says...
12:47pm Wed 9 Jan 13

The tower is a failure in more ways than we realise.
Weymouth council had designed it to cast a shadow across the beach at midday in summer,
thus driving away any few remaining tourists lingering in the vain hope of finding open shops and well organised facilities.
Oh well, plan B (operation flatten and tarmac), is sure to work!

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martaaay2 says...
2:24pm Wed 9 Jan 13

In contrast to a few of the above comments, I hope merlin have a good summer 2013 and can make something of the tower, as suggested maybe adding a bit extra time at the top if its quiet?

I have family wishing to visit the sea life centre and the tower in the summer when they visit

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sapient says...
4:09pm Wed 9 Jan 13

I am not surprised by the low attendance figures. Aside from the olympics, which were very badly handled, the weather was very poor last year.
Weymouth has so much going for it as a family holiday destination. It should never be considered as another Blackpool, although the town already seems to attract more than its fair share of drunks and other undesirable characters.
The local council has much to answer for. It has little imagination and no vision. A town manager is required to ensure that a long term strategy is drawn up, implemented and properly funded. Simple things, like keeping the streets and open spaces clear of litter. Using the wonderful assets that the town already has, making them work harder and ensuring that the town is always a family friendly place to visit.
On the subject of litter, the railway station is a disgrace. Last Saturday afternoon the forecourt was full of paper and discarded beer cans.
The length of harbour railway line alongside B&Q has partly been cleared of litter and other debris, but much remains. How about Nework rail clearing the rest and next summer bringing boat trains back to Weymouth Harbour.
They were such an iconic part of the Weymouth Holiday scene there is no reason why they could not provide a real focus for regeneration.
Anyone who thinks that such an idea is impractical should wake up to the tram systems which operate in much more congested locations elsewhere in the Country.
On the question of the tower charges. The operator will no doubt take a commercial decison on their seasonal charges but the local Council also needs to do the same with its car parking charges. Their car parks should remain free on Sundays throughout the year and be brought in to line with those in Dorchester. More Car Parks are unecessary.

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212 dorset says...
5:04pm Wed 9 Jan 13

Im pretty sure the majorty of local people who have an ounce of business sense, all said that this tower would never work and it would be down within three years. Sure enough, looks like we will be proved right again. It CAN NOT possibly cover its costs. I wonder how many people went up the tower between September 1st- December 30th? I would estimate an absolute maximum of 10 ,000 (probably far too many), but this would turnover approx £90,000 in revenue for the 4 month period. Take off all the staff costs, insurances, rates , electric etc, and I doubt your left with £25,000. If this project cost them 3 million to set up, how are they possibly going to recoup there money back within 30 years, let alone 5 years???

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rodwell-t-rail says...
10:41pm Wed 9 Jan 13

woodsedge wrote:
So, whose great idea was it to put what looks like a nuclear chimney on the end of the promenade in what can best be described as a run down car park/ ferry terminal (when and if the the harbour wall is repaired) and expect it to make money!! This pink elephant is only equal in status to the floating dog turd sculptures on the relief road. Where is the vision for the seafront and a cohesive joined up planning strategy? IS THE FUTURE FOR WEYMOUTH A FAMILY SEASIDE DESTINATION OR PUT YOUR CARDS ON THE TABLE AND LET THE LOCAL RESIDENTS KNOW ITS A MINI BLACKPOOL!!
I believe that W&PBC have got a joined up planning strategy for this area which involves the whole area including the pavilion being gifted to Merlin to operate as a theme park.

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rodwell-t-rail says...
10:47pm Wed 9 Jan 13

sapient wrote:
I am not surprised by the low attendance figures. Aside from the olympics, which were very badly handled, the weather was very poor last year. Weymouth has so much going for it as a family holiday destination. It should never be considered as another Blackpool, although the town already seems to attract more than its fair share of drunks and other undesirable characters. The local council has much to answer for. It has little imagination and no vision. A town manager is required to ensure that a long term strategy is drawn up, implemented and properly funded. Simple things, like keeping the streets and open spaces clear of litter. Using the wonderful assets that the town already has, making them work harder and ensuring that the town is always a family friendly place to visit. On the subject of litter, the railway station is a disgrace. Last Saturday afternoon the forecourt was full of paper and discarded beer cans. The length of harbour railway line alongside B&Q has partly been cleared of litter and other debris, but much remains. How about Nework rail clearing the rest and next summer bringing boat trains back to Weymouth Harbour. They were such an iconic part of the Weymouth Holiday scene there is no reason why they could not provide a real focus for regeneration. Anyone who thinks that such an idea is impractical should wake up to the tram systems which operate in much more congested locations elsewhere in the Country. On the question of the tower charges. The operator will no doubt take a commercial decison on their seasonal charges but the local Council also needs to do the same with its car parking charges. Their car parks should remain free on Sundays throughout the year and be brought in to line with those in Dorchester. More Car Parks are unecessary.
with reference to the untidy length of railway line alongside B&Q, I recently approached Network Rail asking them to lease or sell me the piece of land because I wanted to try to operate a street market along there but they said that they are not selling or leasing land at the moment so it may remain an eyesore for a long time to come.

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bigfatlad says...
8:28am Thu 10 Jan 13

I think rising sea levels will have accounted for the beach in five years from now so there won't be that to look down on...

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rodwell-t-rail says...
10:49am Thu 10 Jan 13

I still believe that this unsightly tower should never have been erected at this location. If it had to be put up at all it should have been done on the existing Sealife site.
The Council should have offered the site to Condor to improve and expand their facilities. It would have been better suited to some sort of hotel development like the Premier Inns development which is being provided at the New Look Mercery Road site. This could of been used for their overnight passengers to stay in.
Now they should dig out the whole area and build an underground salt water extraction factory to convert the sea into Sea-Salt to hold back the threat of Global Warming.

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rodwell-t-rail says...
10:58am Thu 10 Jan 13

In my opinion anyone on W&PBC and Councillors that has had anything to do with the horrendous changes that have or have not been done to the Seafront and Harbour should seriously consider whether they are in the best position to serve the people of Weymouth or whether they would be better served by their absence.

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-Wingl- says...
3:54pm Thu 10 Jan 13

rodwell-t-rail wrote:
In my opinion anyone on W&PBC and Councillors that has had anything to do with the horrendous changes that have or have not been done to the Seafront and Harbour should seriously consider whether they are in the best position to serve the people of Weymouth or whether they would be better served by their absence.
I agree with your comments. Although any 'energy' saving comments are mostly pie in the sky, as they are generally over hyped money making senarios for investors.

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connie68 says...
6:31pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Surprise Surprise!

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