Looking ahead to Christmas market (From Salisbury Journal)

Looking ahead to Christmas market

10:00am Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News By Jill Harding

IT might only be Valentine’s Day but Salisbury’s business leaders are already looking ahead to this year’s Christmas market.

Salisbury City Centre Management says the market brought £3.6million to the city’s other shops and businesses last year and promises this time the festive market will be even better.

The market, held between November 29 and December 16, attracted 94,000 visitors. An independent survey showed that visitors spent an average of just under £25 each at the Christmas market, and around £38 elsewhere in the city.

Just under half the visitors to the market came from outside Wiltshire, with 12 per cent of people visiting Salisbury for the first time.

Stephanie Swann, Christmas market manager, said: “Many of the traders are already asking about this year and they are very keen to return to Salisbury.

“This was Salisbury’s first Christmas market and the traders were taking a big risk but it has obviously worked for them.”

Chairman of Salisbury City Centre Management Ian Newman added: “We are already planning for this year and we hope to make a number of improvements to make the market even more popular and more successful than last year.

“People have told us that they want the market to run for longer and they want more chalets. We are, therefore, looking at how we can do this and hope to be able to announce our plans in the very near future.”