Birmingham attracts more international visitors than ever before
BIRMINGHAM attracted more international visits last year than ever before, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Research released by the ONS shows there were 944,000 visits to the city last year by global guests. Consumer spend by foreign visitors reached £300m.
The figures mean Birmingham has held its position as the fourth most visited city in the UK for the seventh year running, with London leading the table.
Key attractions last year included the city’s Frankfurt Christmas Market, which welcomed a record 5.5 million visitors.
Inward investment organisations are hoping that a host of events during 2015 will help the visitor numbers remain strong. Highlights include the Rugby World Cup at Villa Park, the England v Australia Ashes Test Match at Edgbaston and the AEGON Classic tennis tournament, also at Edgbaston.
Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “These figures are great news for Birmingham, confirming the city’s international standing and appeal.
“It is particularly pleasing to see Birmingham consolidate its ranking amongst UK cities – we are now very much on the map with global visitors thanks to an outstanding tourism offering.
“As many of the city’s most significant development schemes including New Street Station near completion, we look forward to the number of visitors increasing throughout 2015 and beyond.”
The city’s strong tourist appeal was further boosted in 2014 by a high proportion of international business visitors. Birmingham and Manchester were the only two of the top 20 UK destinations to see the majority of their international visitors come for business purposes.
In recent months, Birmingham has continued to target key global visitor markets. Working closely with Birmingham Airport and tourism bodies VisitBritain and VisitEngland, the city has welcomed delegations from USA, China and Iceland to launch new air routes, and also attended trade exhibitions in the Asia Pacific region and Germany.
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing Services for the city’s leisure and business tourism programmes Visit Birmingham and Meet Birmingham, said the city’s reputation for food, retail, festivals and events was greater than ever, and this was reflected in the latest figures.
“We have seen continued international growth since 2012, with the size of our global visitor market increasing by a third – this is faster than any other UK city,” she said.
“We have been actively promoting Birmingham more widely than ever before, targeting markets with large numbers of potential visitors, such as China and India.
“Global competition to attract tourists is as fierce as ever, and we are determined to maintain this positive momentum with a packed calendar in 2015.”
Building on Birmingham’s international success, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) is currently consulting with residents and businesses to identify how the area should promote itself to companies, tourists, the media and other organisations across the world.
Further information is available via the website www.birminghamregion.co.uk which will be live until June 8, after which feedback which will be used to define the region’s identity as a place to live, invest, visit and do business.
