Nearly one million people visited the West Country from overseas last year, with tourism now worth a record £2.46bn to the regional economy, new data suggests.
According to the research by Visit West, which covers Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, international trips to the region grew by 21% to 957,000 in 2023, just 14% behind the pre-pandemic record high in 2019.
Bristol was the seventh-most visited destination by inbound visitors, while Bath ranked 11th (joint with Cardiff) as combined staying visits increased by 2%, with an increase in spend of 7%.
Domestic staying visits from UK tourists fell by 3% to 2.86 million, but domestic day visitors to the West Country increased by 5%, with those people spending 22% more than the previous year – and 10% more than in 2019.
The biggest beneficiaries of visitor spending in the region were the retail sector (an estimated £409m); food and drink businesses (£342m); and accommodation (£200m). The research suggests some 46,000 jobs are supported by the West Country’s visitor economy.
Visit West’s managing director Kathryn Davis said: “We are delighted that the industry continues to strengthen post Covid, and while we are nearly into 2025, we can see from our own data that 2024 in general looks to have built on the 2023 recovery.”
Ms Davis warned that operating conditions for businesses remained “incredibly challenging”. She added: “We will continue to lobby for those working in the visitor economy, and continue to develop strong routes to market through our work with the travel trade, meeting and event organisers and through our consumer channels Visit Bath and Visit Bristol.
“We are looking forward to a strong 2025 with demand from Jane Austen 250, Women’s Rugby World Cup and VisitBritain’s national campaign Starring Great Britain celebrating film and TV locations.”