Cambridge for Tourists
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The first Cambridge Tourist Forum meeting in October 1996 came up with various recommendations:
- Free coach parking at the Madingley Road Park-and-Ride site
for booked visits
- Toilets near coach setting-down points
- Cheaper bus connections between the railway station and the City centre, encouraging train use
- Survey of facilities & requirements for the disabled
- Blue Badge Guides to learn sign language
- Provision of Braille & audio tape guides
- Multi-lingual information terminals at key points around the City
- Use of the Internet to spread the word of the City's attractions
[Leisure & Tourism pages]
- New coach park - possibly the Cowley Road Park-and-Ride site
[This has happened, though the previous site, the Cambridge City football ground car park,
is also available at weekends.]
(CEN 6-Nov-1996)
In July 1997 finger posts pointing to all sorts of facilities have appreared in the
Mill Road, East Road and Hobson's Conduit areas (and probably others) - previously they were only in the City centre.
This is to have parking attendants who can assist tourists with advice.
Also tourist coaches may be diverted to the site (they usually go to Silver Street at the moment).
(CEN 28-Feb-1996)
The City Council's new strategy was launched on 20-May.
It may require more than £100,000 a year for four years but
Council officers estimate it would generate £30,000 a year for the Council.
However the Council isn't going to fund it fully and wants a private sector contribution as well.
The plan is to encourage tourism and improve facilities.
In particular the City wants visitors to stay longer (rather than in for a few hours and out again)
and to venture further than the central medieval Colleges, e.g. to Newmarket, Ely and Huntingdon.
Day visitors average 66%: plan to cut to 60%.
Tourist coaches stay on average for 3.5 hours - increase to 4.5h.
More beds should be offered: plan to increase from 2,042 to 2,500 by 2000.
Tourist numbers are expected to rise by nearly a quarter: 800,000 more visitors,
giving a total of 4.2 million by 2001.
Visitors would be encouraged to use Park-and-Ride
and treat the City with more respect. 55% drive in - the plan is to cut this to 50%.
Only 17% use buses - aim to increase this to 30%.
Language schools need to improve areas such as littering and cycle safety.
The report reckons 6,000 jobs in the area depend on tourism and that it brings in almost £200M into the
City's economy.
(CEN 3-Apr-1996, 9-Apr, 20-May, 21-May)
Cambridge