Go To Places has published new economic data for both its destinations of Kent and Hertfordshire which shows the tourism industry in both counties continues to recover strongly from the impact of the pandemic.
Key data shows that by the end of 2022:
- The value of Kent’s visitor economy had increased to over £3.7 billion – a 46% increase compared to 2021 and just behind the value of the visitor economy in 2019 which topped £4.1 billion. In Hertfordshire the value of the county’s visitor economy had increased to over £2.2 billion – a 40% increase compared to 2021 and just behind the value of the visitor economy in 2019 which topped £2.4 billion.
- The number of tourism related jobs supported by the visitor economy in both counties has also increased. In Kent this had increased by 27% to 74,462 jobs (when compared with 2021), accounting for 10% of total employment in Kent last year. The number of tourism related jobs supported by the visitor economy in 2019 was 81,458 which accounted for 11% of total employment in the county. In Hertfordshire, the number of tourism related jobs supported by the visitor economy across the county increased by 15% to 38,936 jobs (when compared with 2021), accounting for 6% of total employment in Hertfordshire. The number of tourism related jobs supported by the visitor economy in 2019 was 43,390 which accounted for 7% of total employment in the county.
Go To Places commissioned the studies which uses the industry-respected Cambridge Economic Impact Model to measure the volume and value of tourism within a destination and the effect of visits and visitor expenditure on the local economy.
Go To Places Chief Executive, Deirdre Wells OBE, said: “It is fantastic to see these results which show a significant uplift in spend, jobs and visitation last year across Kent and Hertfordshire’s tourism and hospitality industries especially as many businesses were still recovering financially from the impact of the pandemic and grappling with a sudden sharp rise in inflation.
“Both visitor economies have clearly benefitted from a substantial increase in visitors and spend from international markets and the strong preference in 2022 for many UK residents to travel and stay within the UK rather than go abroad. Although the volume of overnight stays and trips is not quite there yet compared to before the pandemic, it is great to see that the length of stay in both Kent and Hertfordshire and spending per head has increased compared with 2019.
“We are particularly pleased that business travel is bouncing back in Hertfordshire and this is due primarily to many accommodation providers in the county adapting their offer as the nature of business travel has changed substantially.
“Encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend more has always been a central part of our strategies for both counties over the last few years so it is great to see that our efforts are paying off! The data also tells us that for both UK and international visitors - seeing and staying with family and friends is a major draw and our Big Weekend initiative which sees local tourism and hospitality businesses giving out free tickets to local residents is really helping to grow this segment of the visitor market.
“Screen tourism has also been another key focus for us in both counties and in 2024 we will be launching a new service to help destinations capitalise on this growing trend as confirmed in both the recent Expedia Travel Trends report and the new agreement between VisitBritain and the British Film Commission – watch this space!”
To access the full 2022 county reports and infographics, please visit here (Kent) and here (Herts).