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.
Jump to 2022 results
2019 to 2021
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.
In 2021, there were an estimated 25.7m domestic day visits (2019 – 33.2m)
There was significant recovery in the value of the visitor economy during 2022.
- Total visitor related spend = £2.13bn
Domestic Day Trips
- Total day trips = 26.6m
- Total day trip spend = £1.153bn
Total staying trips
- Domestic (from within the UK) = 2.96m
- Total Domestic Staying Visitor Spend = £549m
- Overseas = 793,000
- Total Overseas Staying Visitor Spend = £370.1m
Other
- Friends and relatives spend (non-visitor) = £61.6m
- Home/holiday accommodation spend = £2.3m
Regional hotel occupancy averaged around 70% (In 2019, occupancy was estimated at 80% in Bristol, and 77% in Bath).
Visits to attractions had increased significantly in city centres, and while there were more visits to rural attraction in 2022, the rise was much smaller. Rural outdoor attractions opened before city-based indoor ones and many benefited from domestic visitors staying in the UK in 2021, rather than travel overseas.
Seasonality
July and August are peak travel months in the region, with most individual trips taking place in August. July remains the peak month for actual overnight stays in Bristol, while occupancy is higher in Bath during August.
Which sectors of the local economy benefit from visitors' spend?
In 2022, 32% of all direct visitor expenditure was made on retail, followed by food and drink at 29%. 15% of all visitor spend is made on accommodation, travel 15%, and attractions and entertainment 9%.
Retail is the only segment where international staying visitors outspend their domestic counterparts.
Local high streets, particularly in cities and town centres, benefit from visitor spend as they are looking to make immediate purchases.
Context of the Visitor Economy in the South West of England
Within the wider South West of England, the four unitary authorities of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, continued to have the highest number of day visits of any other individual region (more than 26.6m in 2022, with the next highest Devon at 23.9m) and the third highest number of staying trips overall after Devon and Cornwall. While this represents the third highest number of domestic staying trips, and spend, the region has the highest number of international staying trips, and spend, almost double the next region (Dorset).
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