New research has revealed that the visitor economy in the West of England is worth £2.46 billion and supports around 46,000 jobs.
The Roman Baths at night | Photo © B&NES Council
The figures from Visit West, the accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), show a rise in inbound international visits, up by 21% to 957,000.
Visit West represents the tourism industry across Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
The latest research outlines the region’s steady recovery since the pandemic and in the face of the cost-of-living crisis.
According to the research – which reports on the volume and value of the visitor economy in 2023 – domestic staying visits from UK tourists fell by 3% to 2.86 million, however, the number of domestic day visitors to the region increased by 5%.
Domestic day visitors to the region spent 22% more than the previous year, and 10% more than in 2019, despite the number of day visitors being 15% lower than that record year.
Visit West’s strategy is to encourage people to stay longer in the region, maximising their stay while exploring what the area has to offer, with spend supporting high streets and small businesses in particular.
The research outlines the biggest beneficiaries of visitor spend being the retail sector (an estimated £409 million), food and drink businesses (£342 million) and accommodation (£200 million).
Visit West’s Managing Director Kathryn Davis said: “We are delighted that the industry continues to strengthen post Covid, and while we are nearly into 2025, we can see from our own data that 2024 in general looks to have built on the 2023 recovery.
“Operating conditions for businesses remain incredibly challenging and we will continue to lobby for those working in the visitor economy, and continue to develop strong routes to market through our work with the travel trade, meeting and event organisers and through our consumer channels Visit Bath and Visit Bristol.
“We are looking forward to a strong 2025 with demand from Jane Austen 250, Women’s Rugby World Cup and VisitBritain’s national campaign Starring Great Britain celebrating film and TV locations.”
