Member Article

Domestic tourists will contribute £7.6 billion to the Yorkshire economy by 2017

Domestic tourist expenditure is forecast to grow by 26% in Yorkshire over the next four years to £7.6 billion, according to Barclays’ Tourist Dynamics Report 2014.

The hospitality and leisure sector will benefit most with growth in spend of 27% by 2017 but the retail sector is also set to benefit with a growth in spend of 23% by 2017

The research, independently commissioned for Barclays’ Retail and Hospitality & Leisure sector teams, reveals that growth in domestic tourism will largely be driven by continuing pressures on the cost of living, with many financially under pressure consumers opting to bypass overseas travel in favour of domestic locations.

Debbie Mullen, Barclays’ head of Corporate Banking in Yorkshire, commented: “The economy is improving and confidence is certainly growing, and while this will lead to a gradual rise in the number of consumers looking to holiday abroad again, it is unlikely to precipitate a return to the holidaying habits we were seeing prior to the downturn.”

The hospitality and leisure sector will benefit most from the trend towards ‘staycations’, with Yorkshire domestic tourist spend growing to £4.9 billion by 2017, up by 27% since 2013. Pubs and restaurants will be the greatest benefactors, with spend expected to rise by 27% to £2.8 billion as more people dine out.

Hotels and B&Bs will see domestic tourist spend increase by 27% to £1.2 billion and leisure attractions by 28% to £926 million.

While Yorkshire high street retailers continue to face stiff competition from the growth of online sales, the sector will still attract a 23% rise in domestic tourist spend by 2017, to over £1 billion. In particular, it is predicted that expenditure from consumers will fuel impressive growth in the fashion and home sectors, of 36% and 45% respectively.

Barclays is encouraging all its customers in Yorkshire to make the most of Le Grand Depart which comes to Yorkshire on July 4 and has been holding a series of seminars across the county to help prepare businesses to make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

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