Manchester wooing more Far East tourists
TOURISM chiefs say an increasing number of flights between Manchester and international hubs in the Middle East is attracting more tourists from the Far East.
The number of leisure visitors from Singapore has nearly tripled in the last 12 months from approximately 1,500 to 4,500 in 2010, which makes the country Manchester’s ninth largest leisure market. China has also entered the top 10 with over 4,400 visitors.
Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: “Manchester has always been a popular destination for visitors from Ireland, the USA, Germany and Norway, but the Far East has really increased its prominence.
“The extra capacity on flights to the Middle East, particularly the Emirates and Etihad Airways services, will certainly have helped as that route is one of the fastest ways of getting to Manchester.”
Simpson says 2012 looks set to be another positive year for tourism, with the opening of the National Football Museum at Urbis and Old Trafford hosting some of the Olympic Games football matches.
Manchester is also proving to be big Down Under – last year 14,000 Australians made the near 24-hour journey for a leisure break to the city. Australia is now behind Ireland (26,000) and the US (22,000) in terms of visitor numbers.
Data from the Office for National Statistics’ latest International Passenger Survey, has confirmed that Manchester has retained its position as the third most popular destination in the UK for international visitors to Britain.
Greater Manchester increased its number of international visitors by 5% to 1,016,000 and business visits increased by 16% in 2010 compared to the UK increase of 3%.
