Member Article

Tourism’s £800 million boost for Cheshire East economy

Higher visitor numbers and longer hotel stays have combined to boost tourism spending to a record high in Cheshire East.

Income generated by the visitor economy rose 9.4% on the previous year to £807milliion in 2014, an increase of almost 50% on 2009.

The figures were announced at the Marketing Cheshire Visitor Economy Conference by Councillor Les Gilbert, Cheshire East Council’s Cabinet member for communities.

He said: “Tourism growth in Cheshire East has exceeded our targets and is way above industry expectations.

“With the new visitor facilities planned at Jodrell Bank, hotel developments due imminently and the prospect of an HS2 hub station at Crewe, we can anticipate even better to come.”

Cheshire East Council Leader, Councillor Michael Jones, said: “The success of our visitor economy is great for the borough, great for jobs and great for local businesses”.

The number of people employed in tourism in the borough grew by 3.7% in 2014 to 10,900, which means that the industry has boosted its workforce by 26% since 2009.

The total number of visitors increased 5.2% to 14.62 million last year. They spent 15.8% more on accommodation, and 8.4% more on food, drink and recreational activities.

Cheshire East has also seen an influx in visitors to artisan markets, which is reflected in an 8.5% increase in shopping expenditure since 2013.

While there was a slight drop of 1.2% in the numbers staying in hotels, guest houses and holiday cottages in 2014, overall guests spent 11.1% more.

Average hotel occupancy is now rising, reaching 72.3% April 2015 compared with 71.2% a year earlier.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .