Welcome boost to cultural tourism expected for Nottinghamshire following Arts Council England funding

Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire (MNN), has welcomed news that the Arts Council England is investing £150,000 to reveal the cultural treasures of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire alongside new contemporary artworks. The investment comes from the Arts Council’s Cultural Destinations programme which gives arts and cultural organisations the resources they need to increase their reach and impact by working with the tourism sector. Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire will be working with partners to support the investment, in order to build on the success of The Grand Tour, which took place in 2015 and 2016, and offered visitors a short break with a difference. This further funding will support the research and development for two more seasons set to take place in 2018. Brendan Moffett, Chief Executive of Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, said:  “The announcement by Arts Council England to invest £150,000 in the region to increase the number of cultural tourists is excellent news for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.  Not only will it have an impact in the number of visitors we attract, it will also have a positive effect on the wider visitor economy, which helps to deliver local jobs and support local businesses.” The news follows the latest statistics* which revealed the number of tourists to the city and county increased by 4.4% to 34.26m in 2015 compared to 32.82m in 2014 whilst the value of tourism to the local economy increased by 4.5% to £1.680bn – up from £1.608bn in the previous year. The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs supported by tourism also increased by 445 in 2015 to 21,781 – up 2.1% from 2014 when 21,336 FTE jobs were supported by tourism. The number and value of day visitors to Nottinghamshire showed the greatest increases in 2015 with 30.85m visitors to the city and county – an increase of 5% on 2014 – spending £1.083bn – up 6.1% on the previous year. The value of overnight stays in Nottinghamshire also increased by 1.6% in 2015 to £596m compared to £587m in 2014. Brendan Moffett added: “The figures revealed in the STEAM 2015 report show there was a significant boost to Nottinghamshire’s visitor economy in 2015, in terms of the volume and value of tourism. “The economic impact of tourism in Nottinghamshire has enjoyed positive increases year-on-year for the past five years, and tourism performance and the impact it has on the wider economy, is one of the key focuses for Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire. “The Grand Tour, in which we worked with a number of key partners to attract cultural tourists to the region, certainly helped to contribute to these excellent visitor economy results and we look forward to reaping the benefit of this Arts Council funding in the future.” For more information about Experience Nottinghamshire and the many tourist attractions, developments and events it promotes and supports, visit www.experiencenottinghamshire.com *STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) report 2015