The D2N2 visitor economy grew by £114million in 2016, according to recent research.
The latest figures from the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM), show that the D2N2 area of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire added £3.7Billion to the area’s economy through tourism in 2016, an increase of £114million on the previous year’s figure.
The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) works across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to boost its areas economy and create jobs. As part of its long-term goal of creating 55,000 new jobs in ten years (2013-2023), D2N2 identified the visitor economy as one of its eight key sectors – industry areas with existing strengths and the potential for new business creation.
D2N2 has backed the visitor economy further by part-funding the first two seasons of The Grand Tour – an initiative which looked to increase overnight stays in the D2N2 area and provide visitors with a programme which took in several major D2N2 attractions including Chatsworth House, the Harley Gallery, Derby Museum (pictured) and the Nottingham Contemporary, amongst others.
The latest VisitEngland Annual Attraction survey also shows that visitors to D2N2 attractions rose to 186million in 2016, an increase of 5.99m on the previous year. The number of full-time equivalent jobs related to the visitor economy has also increased by almost 1,000 (888) from 2015 to 2016, meaning that the visitor economy now supports over 50,000 jobs across the D2N2 area (50,249). The number of visits to the D2N2 area also increased in 2016. 75.48million people came to visit last year, an increase of 1.3million on 2015’s visitor numbers.
Lindsay Allen, Senior Programme Manager for Business Engagement at the D2N2 LEP, said: “As well as good infrastructure for business use, places need an offer for people as well. In D2N2, we have a number of fantastic offers for visitors and it is clear from these recent figures that our offer is being well received by the rest of the UK and the world.
She added: “Here at D2N2, we have been a part of major visitor economy initiatives in recent years, and we will continue to work across our area with our businesses and place marketing organisations to ensure that Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire continue to offer the very best for their visitors.”
Brendan Moffett, Chief Executive of Marketing NG, said: “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.”
Jo Dilley, Managing Director of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, added: “We’re delighted that the area is performing so well and showing sustained growth over a ten-year period in an increasingly competitive global tourism market. We need to maintain this strong forward momentum and will be working closely with Derbyshire County Council and partners into helping tourism businesses to continue to develop and thrive, as well as supporting the food and drink and cultural and arts sectors. We are working on some new exciting projects for 2018/19 and these results are very encouraging for the future and our plans to develop both the domestic and overseas strands of our marketing activity.”
For More Information on the above release, please contact: | ||||
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Sean Kirby D2N2 Communications Manager 01159 578749 |  | Sam Burbage D2N2 Social Media and Marketing Officer 01159 578254 | ||
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