The World Town Crier Tournament Returns to Chester, Bringing History, Visitors and Opportunity With It

This week, 25 town criers from eight nations have descended on Chester for a tournament that hasn’t been held in the city since 2014. It is fun, unusual and completely in keeping with a city whose town crier tradition dates back to 1554.

But the part we find really interesting is what has gone on behind it.

Marketing Cheshire secured £50,000 of funding through Airbnb’s Best of British Fund to bring the tournament back to Chester.

And that kind of investment matters.

An event like this does more than fill the city centre for a few days. It brings people from across the world into Chester and puts the city in front of a much wider audience.

The criers themselves have travelled from eight different nations, but the reach goes further than that. They take photos, share stories, speak about the city and take their experience of Chester home with them.

That is powerful destination marketing.

Chester already has incredible history. The challenge is making sure that history continues to feel relevant, interesting and worth travelling for.

The World Town Crier Tournament is a great example of that.

It takes a tradition that has existed in Chester for more than 470 years and puts it in front of a new audience. It creates activity in the city centre, gives people something different to see and, importantly, gives Chester something to talk about beyond the usual reasons people already know us for.

That matters in an increasingly competitive visitor market.

Every destination is trying to give people a reason to choose it for a day out, a weekend away or a longer stay.

Sometimes that means creating something completely new.

Sometimes it means recognising what already makes your destination special and putting proper support behind it.

That is why funding events like this should be seen as an investment in the wider city, rather than simply the cost of putting on an event.

The benefit reaches much further than the square where the event takes place.

Hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés, shops, attractions, taxis and countless other local businesses can all benefit when more people are moving around the city.

It also gives visitors another opportunity to experience Chester properly.

And if they have a great experience, they may come back.

Of course, putting on an international event takes more than funding alone.

Marketing Cheshire had a budget to bring the tournament to the city, but events of this scale also rely on businesses across Chester being willing to get involved.

They approached local hoteliers to help provide accommodation for the 25 visiting town criers, and for us, the answer was an immediate yes.

We see first-hand what major events can do for Chester. When the city is busy, hospitality is busy. Restaurants benefit. Bars benefit. Shops benefit. Hotels benefit. The energy spreads far beyond the event itself.

So we were more than happy to provide two rooms for the week and play a small part in helping make the tournament happen.

Because supporting the visitor economy cannot sit with one organisation alone.

If we want Chester to be seen, visited and talked about more, businesses across the city have to support the people and organisations creating those opportunities.

Sometimes that means funding.

Sometimes it means promotion.

Sometimes it means offering a couple of bedrooms.

But collectively, it all matters.

That is the bigger picture.

A strong visitor economy needs reasons to visit throughout the year. It needs events, activity and moments that remind people why a place is worth travelling to.

Chester already has the history.

The important bit is continuing to invest in it, support it and bring it to life for the next generation of visitors.