December 12, 2012 4.15 pm This story is over 135 months old

Lincoln Christmas Market 2012 visitor numbers drop by 100k

Smaller crowds: This year’s Lincoln Christmas Market saw a decrease in visitor numbers by around 100,000.

This year’s Lincoln Christmas Market saw a decrease in visitor numbers by around 100,000.

Official figures from organisers City of Lincoln Council show that this year around 250,000 people attended over the four days, compared to 350,000 people in 2011.

In 2011 the market had a bumper year, after the event was cancelled for the first time in its history in 2010, due to severe weather.

The number of coaches coming in was down 26% on last year, from 587 to 435.

For the park and ride service at the Show Ground, there was a 28% drop in ticket sales and a 31% decrease in passenger numbers compared to last year.

A new one-way system was enforced for around a third of the market period.

This led to traders on Steep Hill and Bailgate complaining that it led to significantly lower trade on the first day of the market than in previous years.

They argued that due to the one-way system, people did not return to their shops because the route around the market was too long.

The one-way system was in place all of Thursday and Friday morning. It was first relaxed from Friday midday.

Then on Saturday afternoon the one-way system was reintroduced due an influx of people arriving on trains and coaches.

Holly Parker, Event Officer at the City of Lincoln Council, said: “With the market being cancelled in 2010, last year really was a bumper year with unprecedented numbers of people.

“This year we have returned to a normal level of visitors, which is similar to the amount we had in 2009.

“The stalls were more spread out this year giving visitors the opportunity to get to stalls and make purchases, which is something we had worked on from feedback in previous years.”