Member Article

Rise in British visitors to Manchester boosts economy

British visitor numbers to Manchester are rising, as figures show the number of home visits to the city rose by 20% last year.

The number of Brits visiting Manchester increased from 2.6m in 2011 to over 3.1m in 2012, with an increased spend of £566m on their trips to the city, up from £523m in 2011.

Business visits to Manchester saw a significant increase of 40% from 630,000 in 2011 to 885,000 in 2012, which VisitEngland, who collected the data, said fuelled a 4% rise in the number of Brits going to the city on holiday.

Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: “Tourism is an important contributor to the Greater Manchester economy and the city’s ability to attract large-scale conferences and events – which bring with them (statistically) high-spending delegates - has always been a key strength.

“A 40% rise in the number of business visitors is not only great news for the economy – but also further proof of the importance of continuing to invest in the city’s conference infrastructure”

Tourism in Greater Manchester contributes £6.2bn to the region’s economy, and supports 81,000 equivalent full time jobs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .