Tourism

The tourist based economy will see a huge new contribution from the trail. Bike hire shops and cafés will be busy all year round. Hotels and guest houses will have new customers, particularly at low and mid season. Trail visitors, cyclists and walkers are often from the upper social economic groups with money to spend. The Jurassic Coast Hospitality Association target this group. If each visitor spends only £10 on a day out it will add a million pounds to the local economy annually. There will be lots of business opportunities and new jobs. The construction phase will also provide work for local people.

The Spectacular Portland Section

Several similar trails have already been constructed. Those in tourist areas have proved extremely popular. The Camel Trail which follows the estuary at Wadebridge is the third most popular tourist attraction in Cornwall. It is 25km long and in many respects is similar to the Chain Gang Trail. The Tourist Board claims that 350,000 people visit the Camel Trail each year.

The Rodwell Trail attracts people

Our objective for the Chain Gang Trail is to attract 100,000 visitors per year. The route itself is the equal of those which have at least this number of visitors. We are also much nearer to the main centres of population than much of the rest of the West Country. There will also be a major drive to attract people to the Jurassic Coast. Based on the experience of others and the merits of our project 100,000 visitors is a modest and achievable target.