Every year, Visit West commission a report that explores the volume and value of the Visitor Economy in the region. This report uses the Cambridge Methodology. This is a top-down allocation model based on a variety of data sources, including attractions data, accommodation figures, population estimates, earnings estimates, etc. It should be noted that local, county and regional level data is also used as part of the modelling sources alongside the national datasets.
This national data is normally published between May and September, and so we usually get the final report during October or November.
2023 West of England Headlines
| 2,859,000 |
Domestic staying visitor trips |
| 957,000 |
International staying visitor trips |
| 3,816,000 |
Total staying visitor trips |
| £534,425,000 |
Domestic staying visitor spend |
| £445,295,000 |
International staying visitor spend |
| £979,720,000 |
Total staying visitor spend |
| 28,067,000 |
Total day visits |
| £1,409,830,000 |
Total day visit spend |
| £73,201,000 |
Other related visitor spend |
| £2,462,751,000 |
Total related visitor spend |
|
|
| 45,867 |
Estimated actual employment |
| 34,383 |
Estimated actual employment (FTE) |
Jump to full 2023 results
Pre-pandemic records and recovery - 2019 to 2022
At its peak in 2019, the visitor economy in the west of England was worth more than £2.33bn to the regional economy and supported more than 45,557 jobs.
2020 was looking set to smash these records until the impacts of coronavirus began to take hold in late February, followed by national closedown in March 2020. With limited reopening in July 2020, followed by tiered operation and further national closedown, there are limited records and resources available during this time.
Businesses in the visitor economy began to reopen slowly in spring 2021, and records show the devastating impact on the industry. The number of international staying trips dropped to 176,000 from 1.1m in 2019, with domestic trips at just 2.56m, down from 3.58m. There was some recovery in 2022 as staying visits grew to 3.75m, 21% of which were international visits, and 26.6m day visits, compared to 25.7m domestic day visits in 2021 (2019 – 33.2m)
In total, the total visitor related spend in 2022 was £2.13bn.
Domestic Day Trips
- Total day trips = 28,067,000
- Total day trip spend = £1.409bn
Of all day trips to the west of England, 79% are urban visits, 13% are coastal and 8% are rural.
Estimated Number of Day Visits by region
| Bath and North East Somerset |
4.3m (15%) |
£214.8m (15.2%) |
| City of Bristol |
11.7m (42%) |
£620.4m (44%) |
| North Somerset |
6.2m (22%) |
£274.4m (19.5%) |
| South Gloucestershire |
6m (21%) |
£300.3m (21.3%) |
Estimated Number of domestic staying trips by region
|
Volume (000's) |
Spend |
| Bath and North East Somerset |
742 |
£130m |
| City of Bristol |
1,515 |
£300m |
| North Somerset |
341 |
£63m |
| South Gloucestershire |
258 |
£42m |
Estimated Number of international staying trips by region
|
Volume (000's) |
Spend |
| Bath and North East Somerset |
313 |
£218m |
| City of Bristol |
569 |
£291m |
| North Somerset |
66 |
£22m |
| South Gloucestershire |
9 |
£4.4m |
Which sectors of the local economy benefit from visitors' spend?
In 2023, 32% of all direct visitor expenditure was made on retail, followed by food and drink at 31%. 14% of all visitor spend is made on accommodation, travel 145%, and attractions, and entertainment and attractions 10%.
Retail is the only segment where international staying visitors outspend their domestic counterparts. International staying visitors spend almost double in retail than their domestic counterparts.
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