Skatepark tourists ‘will come rolling in’
Thursday 16th April 2009, 11:30AM BST.
PROPER facilities would attract skateboarders and BMX riders from far and wide, according to local sports shop operators.
The Surf Shop manager Liam Gleeson (pictured) said the culture of filming the action and uploading the videos to the Internet advertised facilities in different locations and created tourism.
‘There is a real circuit. People watch the videos and travel to the places to skate. Children and grown-ups watch them and are encouraged to go there.’
The 23-year-old said he knew many local skaters who travelled around the UK and the Continent to explore cities and visit their skateparks.
‘It’s a way of life. I have been to Barcelona a few times with it and there is a really big scene in the UK.’
The competition circuit would also attract people to the island, he said, especially as skateboarding was in the media more than ever before.
However, he did not think a Guernsey skatepark would need tourists for it to be used to its full potential.
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Good for them but I doubt it will affect EURODISNEYS ticket sales.
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It’s easy to go to one skate park to another in the UK. £7 on the train go in the morning come back in the evening. The expenses in Guernsey, if you were to come for the day it’s going to be £90+ on the plane, if you were to stay the night add another £50. I don’t think you can use the UK as an example, and going to France and Spain to skate, you combine that will a holiday to France and Spain. I don’t think Guernsey as a tourist destination is desirable to UK skaters.
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If the park is good and has its own specialist obsticles ie. replica’s of world famous spots, they will come. Guaranteed.
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Also “going to France and Spain to skate, you combine that will a holiday to France and Spain”
Coming to Guernsey to skate can combine a holiday too. Guernseys beaches are so much nicer than those of the Uk. All of the Uk skaters and Bmx riders we have put up over here for our demo’s have loved it so much the majority of them have returned more than twice.
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Fair enough
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I’ve been trying to persuade a friend to come over to guernsey for ages from the states.
having tried most angles i finally got an email from him the other day saying he had looked up guernsey surfing on you tube and can’t wait to get over here.
it might not be a huge amount of people who come over but anything helps.
Pushing guernsey as an (for lack of a better term) extreme sports destination coudl help attract a whole new segment of the tourist industry. Unfortunately i’m sure the vocal minority of the population will complain about the types of people who are being attracted and the disruption they cause.
I’m sure any plans to setup up competitions would go the way of power boat week with complaints about noise and distruptions to parking.
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