Daily Echo
(excert of front page and double page feature)
A NEW firm is planning to transform Bournemouth into the next Ibiza by escorting groups of revellers on pub and club crawls round the town.
Bournemouth has already been dubbed the party capital of the south, boasting more bars per square mile than central London.
But UK Weekender is planning to take things one step further by modelling itself on trendy holiday operators geared at young party crowds in sunshine resorts like the Greek islands and the Med.
The company is recruiting club reps to accommodate and entertain guests from all over the UK, during alcohol fuelled party weekends.
And tourism chiefs have welcomed the move claiming the rep system could be an effective way to control groups of tourists and improve the area.
Head of Tourism, Mark Smith, said: "I think the idea of reps is an excellent one, this will hopefully lead to better control as opposed to having big groups left to their own devices.
"If every group coming into Bournemouth had some form of supervision we would certainly see a reduction in the amount of trouble in the town."
UK Weekender will organise bar crawls and beach parties similar to the ones shown in ITV series Club Reps - based in Faliraki.
Since the series was shown last summer, the Greek island resort has been slammed for its boozy reputation which has been attributed to high profile rape cases involving British holidaymakers.
But Mr Smith says clubbing weekends are already well established in Bournemouth and club reps would be a logical progression.
He said: "These extra services could actually improve the area. If this company is offering properly paid employees to offer advice and guidance then it would be a major advantage."
And the managing director of UK Weekender claims his company will help turn Bournemouth from a bucket and spade resort into Britain's premiere clubbing destination.
Mike Fisher, 25, said: "I guarantee more people will have booked holidays to Faliraki as a result of the Club Reps show, so at the end of the day Faliraki will make more money from tourism and comes out the winner. That would be great for Bournemouth.
"There is much more of a Mediterranean feel here now with all the clubs and bars that keep popping up, so something like this is a natural progression."
|
