‘Staycations’ boost Manchester tourism
THE ‘staycation’ phenomena, which saw consumers rein in spending on overseas holidays in favour of domestic breaks and days out, helped boost the economic value and employment in tourism in Greater Manchester.
New figures revealed by Marketing Manchester for 2010-11 show 5% growth (in numbers 4,000) to 81,000 jobs supported by tourism.
The research also shows that, during the same period, the economic impact of tourism to the local economy was £6.2bn, up £400m from £5.8bn.
The findings come from the city’s latest STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) report – which uses a range of data sources to estimate this value, including: hotel occupancy rates, available bedstock, room rates, visitor surveys, visits to attractions and visitors to the city’s visitor information centres.
Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, said: “These figures, whilst historical, make very interesting reading. The recession brought with it widespread job losses across the UK – but also a revival of the ‘stay-cation’ which has had a positive impact on the tourism industry.
“This was particularly true for Manchester, which saw a 22% rise in the number of domestic visitors (2.6m) – making the city the second most popular destination for Brits holidaying at home.
“Data for 2012 will be available later this year – and with both Olympic Football fixtures and the VisitEngland ‘Holidays at home are GREAT’ campaign fuelling visits to Manchester, I’m confident it will show that the industry continues to deliver for the city.”
Across the North West, tourism generates £16.96bn for the economy and supports over 268,000 jobs. This forms part of the £97bn economic impact and 2.2million jobs supported in the industry across England.
