Member Article

Foreign tourists will spend £613 million in Yorkshire by 2017

Foreign tourists visiting the UK are set to contribute £613 million to the regional economy by 2017, an increase of 29% on 2013, according to a new report from Barclays.

The research, independently commissioned for Barclays’ Retail and Hospitality & Leisure banking teams, reveals that a combination of loosening visa restrictions and growing wealth among consumers in emerging economies such as China, is likely to drive significant growth in spend.

Stringent visa rules have been “holding back Yorkshire’s potential” to attract visitors from emerging markets such as China and the UAE according to the firm.

With these rules relaxing, spend from Chinese tourists is set to nearly double to £50 million by 2017.

While the recession led to a decline in tourists from the US, American visitors were the highest spenders, contributing £45 million to the local economy in 2013, and they are predicted to be spending around £58 million in Yorkshire annually by 2017.

Italian tourists are projected to be pushed out of the 10 ten nations for for tourists, with India expected to enter the spender’ ‘league table’.

Debbie Mullen, Barclays head of Corporate Banking in Yorkshire, commented: “There has never been a better time for retailers and the leisure industry to capitalise on visitors to Yorkshire with the Grand Depart in July and the influx of visitors this will bring to the region together with the legacy it will leave.

“The importance of businesses being able to market themselves to their different audiences cannot be overstated.

“Whether it’s engaging with in-flight publications, working with local tourist offices, promoting their business overseas or collaborating with other retailers and leisure operators in their local environment, the benefits of targeted profile-raising can make the difference.

“Yorkshire has beautiful landscapes, a strong cultural imprint together with brilliant retail and culinary hotspots making it a real ‘Go-to’ destination.”

Sectors that will benefit the most from the increase in tourism spending in Yorkshire are leisure and retail with both expected to boom. Retail is set to generate £183 million from overseas tourists in 2017, an increase of 31% on 2013. Spending on hotels, eating out and attractions by overseas visitors to the region will rise 28% by 2017 to £355 million.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .