Manchester shines in VisitEngland domestic tourism rankings
A 40% leap in business tourism by domestic visitors last year saw trips to Manchester rise 20% to 3.12 million in 2012, according to figures from Visit England.
Liverpool saw 3% growth to 1.47m in 2012 is ranked in eighth place in VisitEngland’s Top 20 most visited towns, as Mancheser took second place behind London.
Blackpool suffered a 12% decline in total trips by British visitors, falling from 1,478,000 to 1,298,000. The seaside resort however remains the third-most popular domestic holiday destination after London and Scarborough. Manchester was ranked fifth and Liverpool 9th.
In terms of domestic business trips, Manchester was again ranked second to London, and ahead of Birmingham (3rd), Leeds (4th) and Sheffield in fifth place. Liverpool saw a 17% decline to 202,000 in the year, and was the only other North West location for business in the top 20.
In total, domestic visitors spent £566m on their trips to Manchester (+8%), £321m to Blackpool (+22%) and £256m (+2%) on trips to Liverpool in 2012.
The data has been released by VisitEngland as part of the Great Britain Tourism Survey.
Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: “Tourism is an important contributor to the Greater Manchester economy and the city’s ability to attract large-scale conferences and events – which bring with them (statistically) high-spending delegates – has always been a key strength.
“A 40% rise in the number of business visitors is not only great news for the economy – but also further proof of the importance of continuing to invest in the city’s conference infrastructure.”
