VISITORS to Dorchester come for the museums but want to see better parking, a survey has found.
The results of a questionnaire, which was completed by 80 people who visited the county town over the past two months, will be incorporated into a draft plan of projects to improve the town.
Visitors were asked to answer a range of questions broadly based on what had brought them to the town and what would encourage them to return again.
Survey organiser Julian Nangle said the suggestions from tourists would be collected, along with suggestions from townspeople and shop owners, into a list of projects which could receive funding if town businesses vote to become a Business Improvement District (Bid).
Mr Nangle, chairman of the town's chamber of commerce sub-committee for town promotion, said: "I was not surprised that the Tutankhamun Museum and Dinosaur Museum came top because of the amount of promotion they are given.
"What it does bear out is that more people come to Dorchester and spend money here if we promote the town."
Mr Nangle, who runs secondhand bookstore Words etc in Cornhill, added: "It feels to me that this survey proves that it is pointless to promote Dorchester endlessly without providing more parking spaces."
More than 50 per cent of respondents said they had come to the town for either the Tutankhamun Museum or Dinosaur Museum.
Mr Nangle said he was slightly surprised that 15 people had said they visited Dorchester just because it was the county town.
He added: "I feel that gets overlooked as an attraction." Thirty visitors said they were attracted to Dorchester because of its proximity to the sea.
Other suggestions raised or commented on by visitors included pay-as-you- exit parking, free parking days and improved public toilets.
Mr Nangle said the costs of such projects could be met if the town established the Bid project, which would see businesses contribute extra payments based on their rates, into a central fund which could produce £750,000 over five years.
He added that the parking issue needed to be solved by big plans such as a multi-storey car park at Top o' Town or a park and ride system linking a series of small car parks based around the town.
The deadline for suggestions, which can be submitted at Words etc, is October 15 and a full list of proposals will be published in November.
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