Tourism and the wider visitor economy in Nottinghamshire showed a healthy growth in 2015 compared to the previous year, latest statistics* have 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, Chief Executive of Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, said: “The figures revealed in the STEAM 2015 report show there was a significant boost to Nottinghamshire's visitor economy last year in terms of the volume and value of tourism.  34.26m visitors were reported as visiting the city and county – up by 1.44 million on the previous year.   

“Tourism is a key economic driver for the county, creating £1.68bn in income and supporting 21,781 jobs.  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.

“We have continued to raise the profile of the city and county as a visitor destination, which has helped us to achieve such results, and we are delighted to see that the marketing campaigns carried out by Experience Nottinghamshire, and the excellent work done by our members in attracting a greater number of visitors, has resulted in this impressive year-on-year growth.

“A three-year 'In Notts We Love' Regional Growth Fund (RGF) funded campaign, which ran until March 2015, resulted in a £69.9m incremental spend and the generation of 1,293 jobs, which was almost ten times the initial targets set for the campaign by VisitEngland. The campaign included national advertising at London Underground stations, and in popular magazines and newspapers.

“A number of high profile events in 2015 also contributed to the excellent visitor economy results.  These included the Investec Ashes Series at Trent Bridge in August, an increase of visitors to the city for the first-ever October Festival, and season two of 'The Grand Tour', in which we worked with a number of key partners to attract cultural tourists to the region.”

Paul Southby, Chairman, Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, added:  “We are delighted to see that once again data revealed by the STEAM report shows a year-on-year growth in terms of the economic impact of tourism in the city and county. This clearly demonstrates the importance of tourism and the wider visitor economy in helping to deliver local jobs and support local businesses.

“We acknowledge the support of our members and partners with whom we work in collaboration, and the more we can continue to grow support from the private sector, the greater our impact in promoting Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in a competitive landscape will be 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

Ends

For further press information, please contact:

Linda Parker, PR Manager

Email:    linda.parker@experiencenottinghamshire.com

Tel:         0115 962 8304

Notes to Editors

• Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire is the official Place Marketing Organisation (PMO) for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. The organisation is responsible for growing the local economy through encouraging inward investment, attracting business and leisure visitors, student retention and aligning with the local business community. Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire is made-up of three core divisions: Experience Nottinghamshire, Invest in Nottingham and Nottingham Means Business.
• Experience Nottinghamshire is the division of Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire responsible for driving leisure and business visitors to the city and county. It also manages the city's award-winning Tourism Centre. Experience Nottinghamshire works with 500 private sector partners and local authorities including Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Newark & Sherwood District Council, to grow the visitor economy for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire is a leading tourism destination with a world-class reputation for its legends, local traditions, culture, sport and heritage. Tourism in Nottinghamshire is estimated to be worth £1.68bn to the local economy. experiencenottinghamshire.com