Spirus writes:
For June’s #askspirus, we approached 20 local businesses and organisations and asked how they felt about the Tour de France coming to Cambridge on 7th July. We chose a random mixture of businesses and organisations within the CB2 postcode area because their working days would be affected the most. The results were quite surprising:
- 85% of businesses asked said they were delighted and extremely excited about Le Tour coming to Cambridge. Yes, they recognise it will be pretty disruptive but it hasn’t curbed enthusiasm nor anticipation for the day. Many organisations have plans to optimise awareness on the day by displaying signage, running spin-off events or generally entering into the spirit of things in various ways. The financial services company, NW Brown, say they have even made space for six portaloos in their car park for the day – very practical indeed!
- Only 15% of the businesses asked were hesitant. One felt that Cambridge doesn’t need the extra publicity as it is already a well-known city on the world stage. They feel that the effort from the Council should be put into initiatives with longer term benefits for local residents and employees, such as looking at the extortionate city centre parking rates! Another business felt that the way the route is mapped out will make it extremely difficult for them to move around on the day which is an inconvenience.
- Perhaps unsurprisingly, the cycle shops we contacted in Cambridge were unreservedly excited and positive about Le Tour. Rob Turner of Ben Hayward Cycles says they have already seen an increase in footfall, by becoming an ad hoc tourist information point, visited by spectators planning their day – how very organised! It seems that after Bradley Wiggins’ Tour success, as well as the Olympics and the success of Team Sky, road bike sales are doing better than ever. Colin Beckett, owner of University Cycles, said that it is fantastic for Cambridge and it will create a lot of additional wealth for businesses on the day. His view seems to echo the majority of those we spoke to.
- Alliance FranÇaise Cambridge Director, Patricia Dalby, was extremely complimentary about Visit Cambridge and the Cambridge City Council’s support, planning and enthusiasm for the event. To find out more about how plans are progressing we spoke to Neil Jones, Marketing & Business Manager at Cambridge City Council. Despite his understandably hectic schedule, Neil was very positive about the event. Although there are still a lot of wheels to be set in motion, he assured us that everything is planned and mapped out – and the recent government readiness report, TdFHUB2014LTD, confirms it.
So there we have it. It seems that Cambridge is all geared up to play its part in hosting the biggest annual sporting event in the world, and is very excited about it. There seem to be lots of opportunities for local businesses to benefit from the additional visitors to our city – and our tip is that if you can’t beat them, join them because Cambridge has spoken!
Vive le Tour en Cambridge!
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