DOES Bournemouth feel like LA?
An advertising campaign by BH Area Hospitality Association, Coastal BID, Destination Management Board and BCP Tourism has sparked a debate.
The 'Feels Like' campaign was launched to "support the bounce back of the local tourism, hospitality & cultural economy in the wake of the pandemic".
A major campaign to drive staycation visitors across #Bournemouth, #Christchurch and #Poole and position the region as a comparator to world-class destinations such as the Mediterranean, Bondi, Portugal and Miami, has launched over the last week! 1/2 pic.twitter.com/4WLLLLH466
— Coast with the Most (BCP Tourism) Biz (@coastmostbiz) March 23, 2022
A picture of Bournemouth Pier featuring the words ‘feels like L.A’ appears as part of the campaign with other comparisons made between Southbourne and Ibiza, Boscombe and Spain, Poole Bay and Greece and Bournemouth prom and Florida.
Read more: Campaign comparing Bournemouth to Los Angeles takes social media by storm
Last week, popular Twitter account No Context Brits tweeted a photo of the advert along with the caption "no it doesn’t" to more than 700,000 followers.
No it doesn’t. pic.twitter.com/Yc8DW8wHpR
— No Context Brits (@NoContextBrits) April 7, 2022
But are the two places more similar than we might think? Here we compare Bournemouth and LA.
Beaches
Bournemouth is blessed with seven miles of golden sands, its own micro-climate, some of the warmest sea temperatures in the UK and attracts tourists from all over the UK and beyond.
On a summer's day you'll see surfers, skaters, skateboarders and sunbathers.
Apart from the year-round sunshine, we're basically the same as LA, right?
Traffic
It’s a well-known fact Los Angeles is one of the most congested places in the US. Anyone who has lived or visited will tell you how awful the traffic is.
Research by TomTom suggests Los Angeles residents lose 75 hours each year with the city ranked 59th most congested in the world.
However, Bournemouth is also continually named one of the worst places for traffic jams and it was ranked the 99th most congested in the same survey.
According to the research, motorists in Bournemouth lose a whopping 64 hours each year to traffic jams.
Celebrities
Known as the entertainment capital of the world, Los Angeles is home to many movie stars.
We may not have celebrities everywhere you turn but a few actors have swapped Bournemouth for la la land.
Hollywood stars Christian Bale and Millie Bobby Brown previously lived here.
Read more: Has Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown been in Bournemouth?
Other famous faces who have called Bournemouth home include Amanda Holden, Tony Hancock, Alex James, Bill Bryson, Max Bygraves and Janet Montgomery.
And, in 2013, Alex James, Debra Stephenson and Harry Redknapp appeared in Bournemouth tourism's spoof video which parodied the Visit California TV ads.
Read more: 12 famous people who have lived in Bournemouth
Piers
Bournemouth and Los Angeles are both known for their historic piers.
Los Angeles is home to Santa Monica Pier while we have two; one in Bournemouth and another at Boscombe.
Bournemouth's first pier was opened in 1880 with Santa Monica Pier opening in 1909.
Read more: 11 things you might not know about Bournemouth and Boscombe piers
Expensive homes
Who needs a home in the Hollywood hills? Bournemouth has its fair share of exclusive homes for those with a pretty penny to pay.
Last year Zoopla revealed its 10 poshest and most expensive streets in Bournemouth with Little Forest Road topping the list.
Zoopla revealed the average price had increased by 3.08 per-cent with the value of property increasing 13.7 per cent in five years.
Flats in Little Forest Road sold for an average of £370,000 and detached houses for £1,280,000.
Culture
Los Angeles has the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Getty Center and The Broad, Bournemouth has the GIANT gallery inside Bobby's in Bournemouth town centre and the Russell Cotes Museum on the East Cliff.
Read more: 'I've always dreamed of this': New Bournemouth gallery displays acclaimed artists
Plus, Bournemouth is home to the annual Arts by the Sea Festival, an annual celebration of art, culture, people and places.
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