Nottinghamshire’s visitor economy was worth £1.755bn in 2016 – up almost 5% on the previous year – new research* has revealed.   The number of visits to the city and county increased by 3.4% to 35.43million in 2016, up from 34.26million in 2015, whilst the value of tourism to the local economy increased by 4.5% to £1.755bn in 2016, up from £1.680bn in 2015.   This is the sixth consecutive year of growth for the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire visitor economy, which is of huge value locally, supporting 22,249 full time equivalent jobs in 2016 (up from 21,781 jobs in 2015).   The city and county welcomed 32million day visitors in 2016, up 3.7% from 2015, with an economic impact of £1.139bn in 2016, up 5.1% from £1.083bn in 2015.   The value of overnight stays also increased by 3.4% to 617million in 2016, with the average spend per overnight stay growing to £179.67.   Brendan Moffett, Chief Executive of Marketing NG, the official place marketing organisation for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said the growth trend was good news for the sector locally:   “The continued growth of tourism and the visitor economy in both the city and the county reflects the passion of people in the sector to make Nottinghamshire a welcoming, world-class destination for both domestic and international visitors.   “The impact of tourism on the local economy is a key focus for our organisation, and we expect to see this positive trend to continue, with fantastic new projects on the horizon including a new visitor centre for Sherwood Forest, £29million redevelopment of Nottingham Castle, alongside profile-raising projects such as the bid to be European Capital of Culture in 2023 and the attraction of major events such as the recent OVO Energy Tour Of Britain.”   “In 2016 a number of major events also acted as drivers for tourism, including international cricket at Trent Bridge, international Aegon Open Tennis, Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at Nottingham Castle and Season 2 of The Grand Tour.”   2016 was also a very positive year for visits to local tourism attractions, with many local attractions reporting a major increase in the growth of their visitor numbers in the recently published VisitEngland Annual Attraction Survey. Including:
  • City of Caves, up by 15.2% from 2015
  • Newstead Abbey, up by 9.4% from 2015
  • Nottingham Castle, up by 7.7% from 2015
  • Sherwood Forest, up by 5.1% from 2015
  • Southwell Minster, up by 24.3% from 2015
  The visitor economy in Nottinghamshire was celebrated at the inaugural Visitor Economy Summit held by Visit Nottinghamshire, part of Marketing NG, at the East Midlands Conference Centre, with hundreds of local tourism representatives attending to hear from national and international speakers.   For more information on Nottinghamshire for tourism and the breadth of amazing experiences available in the city and county, visit www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk   *STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) report 2016.

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