Tourist numbers hit new heights

Thousands more people descended on Notts over the summer for two major events, figures have shown.

The Splendour music festival saw 20 per cent more people through the gates this year and the Robin Hood festival had nearly double the number of visitors compared to 2012.

Hotel occupancy levels in Nottingham are up 7 per cent year on year so far for 2013, and July hotel occupancy was up 12 per cent on last July.

Meanwhile, the numbers of people heading to the Nottingham Riviera and visiting the city centre have remained largely as they were a year ago.

Tourism organisation Experience Nottinghamshire has said their website has seen double the number of visitors, which suggests people are looking at visiting or planning a stay.

Jennifer Spencer, chief executive of the organisation, said:

"Nottinghamshire has been experiencing a boost in tourism this year, with visitor numbers up at many key attractions and events and hotel occupancy up year on year.

"Thanks to a combination of great weather, fantastic events and national promotion, the city and county have been buzzing this summer."

Councillor David Trimble, portfolio holder for leisure and culture at the city council, said:

"We've enjoyed a fantastic summer this year in Nottingham. We've had the thrill of The Ashes at Trent Bridge and hosted the brilliant national Armed Forces Day, bringing hundreds of thousands of extra visitors to those events to enjoy the city.

"These, along with the ever-popular Nottingham Riviera in the Old Market Square, have helped make the city a hot destination, named by TripAdvisor as one of the best places in the country for a city break. The weather has been great which always helps to boost visitor numbers and as ever we put on a fabulous programme of events such as a stunning Splendour Festival focused on local musical talent and another packed Riverside Festival."

But the good weather hasn't led to more people turning out to the beach on Nottingham's Old Market Square.

James Mellors is part of the group that organises the Riviera and said that early indications said the beach was doing as well as in previous years. He added:

"I think, with the hot weather, people might have planned days out rather than just spontaneously coming to the beach on the square. I think the trains not running for a lot of the summer has also had an impact. But we've still done very well and the weather has been wonderful with a lot of people enjoying themselves."