Posters of Thanet being displayed at train and tube stations in London have helped boost the isle’s tourism economy.
The Visit Kent Summer campaign launched in 2010 and was originally to run for three years. But its success has seen it evolve with the use of social media, tripadvisor and digital adverts.
Research from Visit Kent shows that the top advert image most likely to make people want to visit the county is of Viking Bay – which scooped 54% of a survey vote.
The adverts with the most likes, reactions, shares and comments on social media were Viking Bay, Hever Castle, and Ramsgate.
Margate featured in the Visit Kent Summer campaign in 2015 with an image of Dreamland.
Isle tourism in numbers
Research by Visit Kent published at the end of 2016 shows the last collected data. This covers 2015:
3.9 million trips were undertaken in the area
3.4 million day trips
0.5 million overnight visits
2.1 million nights in the area as a result of overnight trips
£250 million spent by tourists during their visit to the area
£21 million spent on average in the local economy each month.
£122 million generated by overnight visits
£119 million generated from day trips.
£293 million spent in the local area as result of tourism, taking into account multiplier effects.
7,312 jobs supported, both for local residents from those living nearby.
6,403 tourism jobs directly supported
909 non-tourism related jobs supported linked to multiplier spend from tourism
Tourism and tourism related jobs are 17% of all jobs in Thanet
It is estimated that 34% of total trip expenditure was spent in the retail sector.
Approximately 27% was spent on food and drink
16% went towards the cost of accommodation.
Approximately 12% went on visits to attractions and other entertainment.
The remaining 11% was spent in the transport sector.
‘A new light’
Rob Kenyon, Director of Community Services at Thanet District Council said: “Working with Visit Kent and partners on the Kent Contemporary campaign enables Thanet District Council to showcase Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate in London in a brand new light.
“Our Visit Thanet team has been part of this campaign since its inception and it continually delivers a good return on investment and raises the profile of our stunning coastline in ways which we could not achieve on our own. Recent research shows that Thanet is the fastest growing tourism economy in the UK, having grown a massive 19% last year.”