CH1ChesterBID Christmas in Chester 2015 Visitor Survey 175 Total Responses; 118 online, 58 hard copies
Are you: Answered: 175 Skipped: 0
How do you get to Chester? Answered: 173 Skipped: 2
What is your age? Answered: 173 Skipped: 2
Do you have children under 16? Answered: 174 Skipped: 1
How often do you come to Chester city centre? Answered: 173 Skipped: 2
What are the main reasons you come to Chester? (open ended comment box) 97 Responses to open ended comment box
Did you experience any of the following activities in Chester this Christmas? If yes, please tell us how you rated the activity. Answered: 172 Skipped: 3
Did you experience any of the following activities in Chester this Christmas? If yes, how did you rate the activity. Answered: 172 Skipped: 3
Where did you hear about Chester Christmas activities? (tick all that apply) Answered: 171 Skipped: 4
How would you rate Chester City Centre Decorations? Answered: 171 Skipped: 4
Overall, how would you rate Christmas in Chester 2015? Answered: 171 Skipped: 4
Which of the following best describes your spending in Chester this Christmas? Answered: 162 Skipped: 13
Verbatim Summary: Responses were incredibly positive indicating that visitors were very happy with the Christmas offer for 2015 (Particularly Cathedral, Santa s Post Office, Markets, Parades, Free after 3 parking). Suggestions for the future indicate that visitors would like to see: more Santa next year, even if it is appearances rather than a Grotto more street entertainers, animating city centre more activities i.e. ice rink, big wheel, rides, snow play area, trail/treasure hunt more competitions for kids (to keep entertained throughout the season) something for older kids i.e. teenagers more advertising more late night shopping nights Christmas Markets to be up longer (up to Christmas Eve) Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Tell us what you think! What activities and events would you like to see in Chester city centre this year and next Christmas? Please use this space to provide any additional feedback. Verbatim, 1 of 9: Santa in more shops Nice atmosphere with the outside music. Great Holospex, lighting could have been more festive. More street entertainers. More stalls on the Christmas market, more local pop up shops, ice rink Christmas Post Office is amazing but but missed out on the big man himself. 100% better than Chester Race Course Winter Wonderland. Encourage cathedral to carry on bringing classical literature so wonderfully to life. They were great. Much better than the Race Course Winter Wonderland. Some rides for kids would be good next year. Kid's Christmas party, kids activities, Santa tracker. Christmas market activities for children. Great! Fantastic! Such a beautiful city with so much going on at Christmas time. Excellent incentives such as free parking after 3pm and Santa's Post Office. We will be sure to return next year at Christmas time! Thank you :) Loved seeing: Christmas market Elf post office Holographic glasses Mulled wine Would love to see: Ice skating Delighted - Super helpful elves. Loved the Santa post office. Great idea! I enjoyed the Christmas post office and like the children to be entertained with lots of different competitions and activities to do over the festive period. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 2 of 9: More diversity of events, celebrating all major events. Next Christmas there needs to be a better selection of stalls at the Christmas market and running right up to Christmas eve. Xmas Grotto, magical one that you don't have to book. I don't drive and had a dangerous walk from Delemere to the Grotto We have loved these events. Especially the Santa's post office... A snow play area. Ice rink. More life changing ones, fun like the post office. Winter Wonderland Would love to see more advertising I would like a load of rides then I will come next year. All great! Can't think of anything else! Santa's post office was excellent It is better than It used to be. Could do with decorations refresh (lights). More on the streets, more activities for children. A real santa. The post office is a great idea, a little different than the usual grotto's and a little stop at the post office convinced the children to let me shop a little longer! We had attended lots of CH1 activities and think it's a brilliant group. The parades were brilliant but 7pm was a little bit of a late start. A Santa grotto in the centre I think this is all incredibly special and will ensure next year I look up all the activities going on. would love to have the post office there next year father Christmas. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 3 of 9: I loved Chelfie and Elfie and the glasses with snowmen etc on them. An event using the amphitheatre or City walls would be good Santas Grotto,, Ice Rink The Christmas markets were taken down too early. I think it lost it's Christmas feel during the week leading up to Christmas. santas post office excellent Enjoyed the Santa's post office. Loved the Rhino's from a few years back, the kids loved it and had their pictures taken with them. Like the Romans/Gladiators at the amphitheatre in the summer and the civil war re enactment was brilliant apart from the weather Post office was lovely nicely decorated simple but effective do that again Love the Xmas markets but as Stated before need more under cover shelter to eat and drink. Love a Christmas craft market! Cathedral really impressive events and lovely cafe! Shops and Xmas market to open even later at night would be better Lots more kids activities, they make a real difference to a day out shopping as a family. More of the same really - & more widely advertised. Sometimes hard to find out info of what's on. More things like Santas post office, provided great rainy day fun for my kids Ice rink would be nice. Activities sound great but needs more advertising!! The christmas post office Really enjoyed Chester, always a pleasure to visit. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 4 of 9: A great choice offered this year but I was too late in finding the information so missed out on a lot of activities. I will sign up to email but think events & activities could have been published better. Winter watch. I would have seen one but it got cancelled for coca cola. The others weren't on my days off. A decent Christmas market Christmas events for children Winter wonderland with fairground rides,a santas grotto near the markets.christmas activities in the park Be able to visit Father Christmas as part of an experience. Pre bookable ice rink Christmas musical in the new theatre The santa's post office was amazing. I was too late for the Xmas films so being informed earlier Lots more activities for the children, it keeps the magic of Christmas alive. Santa to meet would be good. More children's free activities Santa's post office was fantastic, staff were just lovely. A really magical experience. Fantastic experience for families. Would love to see again next year The parades are the main event for me. So rich with Chester Culture and the streets where packed so more like this. The Coke truck was a PR disaster. Don't bother with a Christmas Tree at the amphitheater but instead spend the money getting two along eastgate street. I thought that Santa's post office was very good but was disappointed that only my daughter received a reply. My son was upset that she received a reply and he didn't. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 5 of 9: I loved Chelfie and Elfie and the glasses with snowmen etc on them. An event using the amphitheatre or City walls would be good Santas Grotto,, Ice Rink The Christmas markets were taken down too early. I think it lost it's Christmas feel during the week leading up to Christmas. santas post office excellent Enjoyed the Santa's post office. Loved the Rhino's from a few years back, the kids loved it and had their pictures taken with them. Like the Romans/Gladiators at the amphitheatre in the summer and the civil war re enactment was brilliant apart from the weather Post office was lovely nicely decorated simple but effective do that again Love the Xmas markets but as Stated before need more under cover shelter to eat and drink. Love a Christmas craft market! Cathedral really impressive events and lovely cafe! Shops and Xmas market to open even later at night would be better Lots more kids activities, they make a real difference to a day out shopping as a family. More of the same really - & more widely advertised. Sometimes hard to find out info of what's on. More things like Santas post office, provided great rainy day fun for my kids Ice rink would be nice. Activities sound great but needs more advertising!! The christmas post office Really enjoyed Chester, always a pleasure to visit. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 6 of 9: Bigger market Christmas is about Christ's birth, that is the pure essence about what is special about the season. Sanctuaries where people can relax and experience God's peace and remember all the good things about the season are so valuable at this time of year. Time-tested, events, not transient fads are what I believe will draw people to Chester to spend. Take the NYPD Christmas choir in New York for example. Less superficial the better. I thought the activities for the children was a great idea and could be built upon for next year. Christmas Treasure hunt/trail. Would like the Christmas Markets to be open up to Xmas Eve & between Xmas & the New Year More outdoor music events.. Local school involved? Talent shows? Xmas carol singing for xmas light switch on Local dance schools performing Interactive valentines, Mother's Day and Father's Day street activities. More children's activities during the holidays. Just more of what you do,more street performance s all year more outdoor markets for hand made crafters only so there more unique and maybe cheaper parking. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 7 of 9: A winter wonderland to give young kids the magic but without all the fairground rides which have nothing to do with Christmas and are just added expense for families!!!. E.g. Father Christmas, lots of fake snow, activities with the elves, an ice rink, Christmas cookie making, Christmas craft activities, reasonably priced food. All in one place. Children s activities for the school breaks are always welcome throughout the year and please do Halloween events like last year BIg Wheel/Helter skelter/ice slide/ice bar similar to Liverpool Big christmas lights switch on event at town hall square with fireworks not a parade. Although the website to book the cinema at the Museum was quite difficult to access. It was an excellent experience. The staff could not have been more welcoming, kind and enthusiastic. We thoroughly enjoyed Christmas in Chester this year. It was evident a lot of thought, effort, time and money went in to all of the extra events and extra bits of magic around the city. We even loved the extra tree lit up by Tesco express making our walk home even more festive. Chester has a lot more to offer than just shops and all of the organised activities ensured each member of our family were kept happy. It is still sad we don't have a City centre cinema. I know this is going to happen in the near future. It will provide a bit of something for the teenager age group. Thank you for all you have done. As a family we have loved all that we have experienced this year. We didn't manage to do everything but of the things we did we could not have enjoyed them more. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 8 of 9: More Late night shopping nights As above, bring back the German market, the big wheel and ice rink It was wonderful :) We came into town instead of staying away from the Christmas crowds and we really enjoyed being a part of something. Loved the chelfie glasses - wow! Santa post office movie screenings pantomimes and story telling workshops Panto. Or Interactive xmas show. Santa grotto in town. More treasure trails like the Owls, my daughter loved it. The Christmas light switch on parade was fantastic but the actual light switch on was very vague. Was with a group of people and most had to go home after watching parade go past and still no lights were on. A big countdown would be good... I'd like to see Santa in the stocks. Santa post was good and staff very pleasing with the children. Christmas market and the drinking tent were nice Definitely winter watch parade. Market was a nice evening out with family. Would have liked to see carol singers. No coca cola van - it was just an advert. Prefer traditional, cultural events. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83
Verbatim, 9 of 9: All good for children Ice skating rink, warm chestnuts and mulled wine stall, cheaper stalls, live music, Christmas plays at tip top production, kids entertainment, ice skating rink, bigger varity of stalls at the market, I might have missed it if there were, but some Xmas films for adults (i.e. Love Actually, black and white classics) Elfs, glasses, cathedral, films (although didn't make it this time). It had a genuine feel good factor with 'free' attractions. Felt like Chester had gone the extra mile in small & subtle ways. Would recommend to friends. More Children's craft activities. The white tent by the library was a great idea. I wish this was a regular feature throughout the year as well as at Christmas. Answered: 92 Skipped: 83