Every year, Visit West commission a report that explores the volume and value of the Visitor Economy in the region. This report uses the Cambridge Methodology. This is a top-down allocation model based on a variety of data sources, including attractions data, accommodation figures, population estimates, earnings estimates, etc. It should be noted that local, county and regional level data is also used as part of the modelling sources alongside the national datasets.
This national data is normally published between May and September, and so we usually get the final report during October or November each year for the previous calendar year.
2024 West of England Headlines
| 2,701,000 |
Domestic staying visitor trips |
| 978,000 |
International staying visitor trips |
| 3,679,000 |
Total staying visitor trips |
| £532,927,000 |
Domestic staying visitor spend |
| £486,728,000 |
International staying visitor spend |
| £1,019,655,000 |
Total staying visitor spend |
| 27,894,000 |
Total day visits |
| £1,496,272,000 |
Total day visit spend |
| £74,571,000 |
Other related visitor spend |
| £2,590,498,000 |
Total related visitor spend |
|
|
| 43,110 |
Estimated actual employment |
| 32,397 |
Estimated actual employment (FTE) |
Domestic Day Trips
- Total day trips = 27,894,000
- Total day trip spend = £1.496bn
Of all day trips to the west of England, 80% are urban visits, 13% are coastal and 7% are rural.
Estimated number and value of Day Visits by region
| Bath and North East Somerset |
4.2m (15%) |
£227.0m (15.2%) |
| City of Bristol |
11.7m (42%) |
£620.4m (44%) |
| North Somerset |
6.2m (22%) |
£274.4m (19.5%) |
| South Gloucestershire |
6m (21%) |
£300.3m (21.3%) |
Estimated number of DOMESTIC staying trips by region
|
Volume (000's) |
Nights (000's) |
Spend |
| Bath and North East Somerset |
709 |
1,769 |
£132m |
| City of Bristol |
1,440 |
3,510 |
£294m |
| North Somerset |
323 |
1,041 |
£64m |
| South Gloucestershire |
248 |
610 |
£43m |
Estimated number of INTERNATIONAL staying trips by region
|
Volume (000's) |
Nights (000's) |
Spend |
| Bath and North East Somerset |
353 |
1,854 |
£141m |
| City of Bristol |
547 |
4,104 |
£315m |
| North Somerset |
65 |
430 |
£26m |
| South Gloucestershire |
12 |
65 |
£5.2m |
Which sectors of the local economy benefit from visitors' spend?
In 2024, 33% of all direct visitor expenditure was made on retail, followed by food and drink at 30%. 14% of all visitor spend is made on accommodation and travel 14%, and attractions and entertainment 9%.
Retail is the one segment where international staying visitors outspend their domestic staying counterparts. International staying visitors spend more than double in retail than their domestic counterparts.
Find out more about how Visit West and its partners and members support industry.
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