RECORD numbers of visitors made tracks to Steam after the Royal International Air Tattoo was washed out.
More than 170,000 people were heading for the world's biggest military air show, not realising it had been cancelled until they arrived in Swindon.
With a weekend jaunt in ruins some visitors returned home, but others took a look at what Swindon has to offer.
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More than 3,000 people packed into the railway museum - three times the number usually expected on a July weekend.
Coun Justin Tomlinson, Swindon Council's cabinet member for culture, leisure and recreation, said: "Whilst we are extremely disappointed for the people who were unable to go to the air tattoo, we were delighted by the alternative ways people found to spend the weekend in Swindon as reflected in the number of visitors at Steam, which were 2,009 on Saturday and 1,034 on Sunday."
And the late cancellation of the air show did not have a negative effect on hotel bookings in and around Swindon.
The Wiltshire Golf and Country Club reported a booming trade, with customers who would otherwise have eaten at the tattoo dining in the hotel's restaurant.
The Express by Holiday Inn, in Blagrove, also reported good business, despite a few last-minute cancellations.
RIAT cost organisers millions of pounds to stage and it is expected that losses will be considerable.
Richard Arquati, of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, said lessons had been learnt from the weekend. "There will have been many lessons learned this year. After all, it is the first time it has happened in the air tattoo's 38-year history," he said.
"Having said that, a lot of the forward planning measures we put in place, in terms of dealing with such a situation, proved priceless.
"Clearly, once the dust has settled, we shall sit down and look at what we did well and what could have been improved. This is something we do every year anyway."
Mr Arquati says it is too early to say what contingency plans will be put in place for next year.
"I don't think there has ever been an occasion when we were close to cancelling the event before but we'll certainly be exploring everything possible. In this case everything that we could possibly do was done."
Although the show was called off, Friends Of The Royal International Air Tattoo were able to view the aircraft yesterday.
Tattoo organisers decided that the FRIAT enclosure and park and view were safe enough for visitors. People were taken by bus to and from the show.
DOH! "We didn't think of using the Park and Rides at Wroughton & Penhill we could have bussed them in then, saving parking and traffic congestion DOH!!!"
DOH! "We didn't think of using the Park and Rides at Wroughton & Penhill we could have bussed them in then, saving parking and traffic congestion DOH!!!"
Posted by: Merlee, Ireland on 2:47pm Tue 15 Jul 08
coming back to Swindon as a regular visitor I had never been to 'Steam' until a couple of months ago. I found it fascinating, bringing back so many memories.well done to everyone who made it possible
coming back to Swindon as a regular visitor I had never been to 'Steam' until a couple of months ago. I found it fascinating, bringing back so many memories.well done to everyone who made it possible
Posted by: Merlee, Ireland on 2:48pm Tue 15 Jul 08
coming back to Swindon as a regular visitor I had never been to 'Steam' until a couple of months ago. I found it fascinating, bringing back so many memories.well done to everyone who made it possible
coming back to Swindon as a regular visitor I had never been to 'Steam' until a couple of months ago. I found it fascinating, bringing back so many memories.well done to everyone who made it possible
[quote][bold]malkym[/bold] wrote:
DOH! "We didn't think of using the Park and Rides at Wroughton & Penhill we could have bussed them in then, saving parking and traffic congestion DOH!!!"[/quote] yeah, that would've made an enormous dent in the 170,000 number wouldn't it?
malkym wrote:
DOH! "We didn't think of using the Park and Rides at Wroughton & Penhill we could have bussed them in then, saving parking and traffic congestion DOH!!!"
yeah, that would've made an enormous dent in the 170,000 number wouldn't it?
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