2019 to 2021
At its peak in 2019, the visitor economy in the west of England was worth more than £2.33bn to the regional economy and supported more than 45,557 jobs.
2020 was looking set to smash these records, until the impacts of coronavirus began to take hold in late February followed by national closedown in March 2020. With limited reopening in July 2020, followed by tiered operation and further national closedown, there are limited records and resources available during this time.
The industry began to reopen slowly in spring 2021, and records show the devastating impact on the industry. The number of international staying trips dropped to 176,000 from 1.1m in 2019, with domestic trips at just 2.56m, down from 3.58m.
In 2021, there were an estimated 25.7m domestic day visits (2019 – 33.2m)
2022 Data
We should have the full details of the economic impact of the visitor economy during November 2023.
From our own data, we estimate that while there was a promising performance for many in 2022, we will still see the value at around 75% of pre-covid figures.
Regional hotel occupancy was in the around 70% (In 2019, occupancy was estimated at 80% in Bristol, and 77% in Bath).
Visits to attractions had increased significantly in city centres, and while there were more visits to rural attraction in 2022, the margin was much smaller. Rural outdoor attractions openly before city based indoor, and many benefited from domestic visitors staying in the UK in 2021 rather than travel overseas.
Seasonality
July and August are peak travel months in the region, with most individual trips taking place in August but July remains the peak month for actual overnight stays in Bristol, while occupancy is higher in Bath during August.
This has not changed.
Which sectors of the local economy benefit from visitor’s spend?
In 2019, around 32% of all direct visitor expenditure is made on food and drink, followed by retail at 24%. 19% of all visitor spend is made on accommodation, travel 15% and attractions and entertainment 11%.
Retail is the only segment where international staying visitors outspend their domestic counterparts.
Local high streets, particularly in cities and town centres, benefit from visitor spend as they are looking to make immediate purchases.
Context of the Visitor Economy in the South West of England
Within the wider South West of England, the four unitary authorities of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, continued to have the highest number of day visits of any other individual region (more than 33m in 2019, 25.8m in 2021) and the third highest number of staying trips overall after Devon and Cornwall. While this represents the third highest number of domestic staying trips, and spend, the region has the highest number of international staying trips.
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