Where Do Bude’s Visitors Come From?
Every year, we welcome thousands of people who choose Bude as their holiday destination — for its beaches, its tranquillity, its family-friendly charm, or simply because once you’ve visited Bude, it has a way of calling you back.
A Map Full of Pins — and a Story Behind Each One
We recently analysed the home locations of visitors who booked their accommodation through the VisitBude website or via the Bude Tourist Information Centre. We expected a healthy spread of postcodes… but the map told a far bigger story.
What appeared was remarkable: a dense scatter of pins stretching from the tip of Cornwall all the way to the Scottish Highlands. It offers a powerful reminder that Bude attracts people from every corner of the UK.
Just as fascinating are the quieter areas on the map, particularly North West Wales, Lincolnshire, and some of the more remote parts of Scotland. Of course, I’m sure we do welcome visitors from these areas, but they aren’t on the map because they didnt book their accommodaiton with us!
It shows how far Bude’s reputation has spread, highlights how wonderfully diverse our visitor base is, reminds us that Bude’s appeal reaches people from every walk of life, and it helps us ensure we’re providing the best possible experience for everyone who chooses to stay here.
Importantly, the map also reflects one of Bude’s greatest strengths: our accommodation offer is incredibly varied. From luxury and boutique stays to cosy bolt-holes and budget-friendly options, Bude has something for every style, every need, and every budget. This variety is a huge part of why visitors from so many places feel that Bude is ‘their special place’.
To us, each pin represents far more than a postcode. It’s a family seaside holiday, a couple’s anniversary break, a solo wellbeing retreat, a first visit — or a fifteenth. It’s lovely to be reminded that people travel from so many different places to enjoy what Bude has to offer, giving fresh perspective on just how far our reach extends.
A Team Rooted in Bude
We’re a year-round team of seven, growing to eleven when our fantastic seasonal staff return each summer. Equally important are our volunteer directors, who give an incredible amount of their time and expertise to help keep us on track. Some of us have worked here for more than 17 years!
We help and chat with visitors long before they arrive — answering emails, taking calls, and helping them plan the perfect trip — and we welcome them in person when they drop into the TIC for advice, directions, souvenirs, or maps from our gift shop.
Many people assume we’re council staff and that the Bude Tourist Information Centre is publicly funded — but the reality is very different. We are a privately run organisation, facing the same financial pressures as many other local businesses, but most of the services we provide to visitors are completely free of charge.
Without the continued support of local businesses who promote their accommodation and services through us, our doors simply couldn’t stay open — and we would join the many other TICs across the region that have sadly been forced to close.
A Message to Our Local Businesses
To our business community, we want to share an important reminder. For most businesses, our membership fee is £150 per year. For some, this fee may seem modest, and for some it seems out of reach — but in reality, it covers just 10 hours of staff time. That’s less than two days’ work in an office which is open seven days a week from 10am to 4pm.
When you consider the year-round support we provide, the thousands of enquiries we handle, and the visibility your business would gain through the TIC and VisitBude platforms, your membership genuinely makes a difference to you, and to us.
Every single membership helps keep the TIC open, staffed, and able to promote Bude as the incredible destination we all rely on. Our membership schemes can be seen here: visitbude.info/members
