Newquay reports record weekend as ‘Beyond Boardmasters’ takes off

For years the advice around Boardmasters weekend was blunt. If you live in Newquay, get out of town. This summer the people who run the shops, cafes and bars set out to rewrite that.

Changing the story around Boardmasters

Newquay BID launched its Beyond Boardmasters campaign for the first time this year. The idea was to pull more visitors into the town centre while the festival was on, show off everything the town has to offer away from the main festival site, and chip away at a long-held perception that Newquay is a place to avoid during the Boardmasters weekend.

It was a direct attempt to flip the usual August narrative. Rather than treating the festival as a reason for locals and day trippers to stay clear, the campaign framed it as a reason to come in and spend time in the town.

📷Credit: Newquay BID

A stronger weekend for the town’s businesses

The early signs have been encouraging. Many businesses have already reported a stronger trading weekend than in previous years, and some said they achieved record-breaking sales. The BID now wants to move beyond those first impressions and build a complete picture of how businesses right across the town actually performed.

That is where traders come in. The BID has asked businesses to spare three to four minutes to complete a short survey on how the weekend went for them.

Have your say on Beyond Boardmasters

The feedback is meant to do more than take a temperature check. It will help the BID work out what worked well, flag up any problems, and shape the Beyond Boardmasters campaign for 2027. The findings will also be shared with Boardmasters and other key partners to help improve future events.

In a message to businesses signed off by Mark from the BID team, the organisation thanked traders for a busy weekend and asked them to fill in the survey while the weekend was still fresh. The wider question, of whether Newquay can keep turning its biggest festival into a win for the whole town, is one the 2027 campaign will have to answer.