30 October 2026
The city’s Business Improvement District (BID) has marked a successful decade of helping to put Southampton on the map as a leading visitor destination.
Over the last ten years, GO! Southampton has delivered a range of marketing activities and campaigns to boost footfall into the city centre. This includes ongoing delivery of the leading destination website, Visit Southampton, which features business listings, attractions, travel information, and a comprehensive events listings page.
Since 2022, it has generated over 3.4million page views, helping people discover Southampton’s attractions, experiences and businesses. The website is supported by regular email marketing, with 160 newsletters sent to more than 15,000 subscribers since 2022.
Last summer, the Visit Southampton website was given a new lease on life with the launch of a revamped site, developed in partnership with Simpleview, a global leader in destination websites. Alongside a refreshed look and feel, the new site introduced improved features to help visitors discover Southampton, plan their trips and navigate the city centre with ease.
GO! Southampton has also delivered 21 marketing campaigns to promote levy-paying businesses and encourage people to visit the city. These include Foodie Fortnight, Christmas in the City and Love the Old Town, which have showcased Southampton’s offer and brought activity to different areas of the city centre.
The BID’s seasonal trails have played an important role in offering a free activity for local families, encouraging them to explore the city centre. Since 2022, the BID has planned and delivered 11 free family walking trails, attracting more than 2,500 participating groups. Its annual Snow Windows trail has become a highlight of Southampton’s festive calendar, whilst this year’s Easter Trail took families through the historic Old Town, highlighting landmarks including Tudor House and Gardens and God’s House Tower.
Dan Crow, Director of God’s House Tower/a-space arts said: “The BID continues to actively boost the tourist economy by supporting cultural venues like ours and the wider Old Town area, helping to create a more vibrant and welcoming place to visit, explore and enjoy.”
GO! Southampton has also invested in raising Southampton’s profile through its partnership with Blakeborough PR, which began in 2021. Since April 2022, the partnership has organised 105 press and influencer trips to the city and distributed 108 press releases, generating an estimated media reach of 2.6 billion and a media value of £6.5 million.
Ankit Vaghela, Owner of Padharo Indian Restaurant, said: “GO! Southampton have been incredible at bringing life to the East Street area of the city, with their seasonal trails and Love the Old Town campaigns, as well as the lighting and artwork they added to the road too.
“We genuinely always look to GO! Southampton as a first port of call for guidance and support in a whole range of ways, from marketing support through to street cleaning, and have had an incredibly friendly experience every time.”
As the BID goes to ballot, GO! Southampton wants to build on this work by continuing to develop Visit Southampton as a trusted source of information for visitors and residents, while investing in marketing and promotional activity to raise the city’s profile further.
Stephen Manion, Executive Director at GO! Southampton, said: “Southampton is a fantastic destination with so much to offer. We’ve worked hard to showcase everything that makes our city a great place to visit, from its attractions and events to its independent businesses.
“There is still more to do, and we want to continue this investment in marketing and promotional activity to raise the city’s profile even further. By building on the success of our campaigns and developing Visit Southampton, we can inspire more people, particularly cruise passengers, to discover the city and support local businesses.”
The GO! Southampton BID ballot is open until 5pm on 26 November 2026. Eligible businesses can vote on whether the BID will continue its work for a further five-year term, from April 2027 to March 2032.
Businesses can read the full plan and find ballot information at www.gosouthampton.co.uk/ballot.