Canterbury is one of the UK’s most historic and culturally significant cities, renowned for its world-famous cathedral, thriving retail scene, and vibrant visitor economy. The wider region, stretching from the city centre out to the beloved coastal towns of Herne Bay and Whitstable, shares that same distinctive character.
Now, the city and its surrounding coast have a new digital platform designed to match their collective ambition. Canterbury BID, alongside Canterbury City Council has partnered with Loqiva to launch Canterbury & Coast, a new Digital Hub to showcase the region’s outstanding retail, hospitality, and tourism offer.
Canterbury continues to be a leading UK destination, attracting millions of visitors each year to its cultural attractions, independent and national brands, and year-round events. The coastal towns of Herne Bay and Whitstable add their own distinct appeal, from Whitstable’s world-famous oysters and creative indies to Herne Bay’s traditional seaside charm, making the combined area one of Kent’s most compelling destinations.
Guided by shared priorities of boosting footfall, supporting local businesses, and enhancing the visitor experience, Canterbury & Coast marks a significant evolution in how the region’s organisations collaborate on digital engagement. The platform brings together events, offers, local business content, and place-based storytelling into a single accessible app so that residents, workers, and visitors can discover what’s happening across the city and coast in real time.
For local businesses, the hub provides a direct channel to communicate with customers, enabling the promotion of seasonal activity quickly and directly. For Canterbury BID and Canterbury City Council the platform delivers valuable insight into how people interact with the wider area, supporting more evidence-led decision-making and a deeper understanding of visitor behaviour and engagement across all three communities.
Lisa Carlson, CEO at Canterbury BID, said:
“Canterbury & Coast is a tool for the whole community. Residents and visitors get a richer experience of everything the area offers, businesses can reach their customers, and we get data and insights that strengthen our understand our area.
What Loqiva has built is genuinely digital infrastructure for the future of our region. And we believe that’s what smart, sustainable place management should look like.”
This partnership marks the latest expansion of Loqiva’s growing network of Digital Town Hubs across the UK, supporting a wider movement toward smarter, more connected places driven by data-led engagement and modern place management.
Barry Conlon, Co-founder of Loqiva, said:
“We are delighted to be working with Canterbury BID and Canterbury City Council on this important step forward. Canterbury & Coast brings the area’s outstanding offer together in a single digital platform, helping to strengthen engagement, support local businesses, and enhance the overall experience of this exceptional part of Kent.”
The Canterbury & Coast app will be available on the App Store and Google Play in July 2026.