Latest visitor economy survey reveals steady increase in visitors to Lancashire

Latest figures from hospitality and tourism businesses show that visitors to Lancashire rose to 66.7m, up by 2.8 per cent on previous 2022 figures.

The county’s annual STEAM report, which evaluates the volume and value of visitors to Lancashire, has been released by Marketing Lancashire, the county’s LVEP (Local Visitor Economy Partnership). 

The statistics now show visitor numbers have recovered steadily over the past four years and are now only -3.0 per cent below pre-Covid figures.

The report also reveals 83 million visitor days were generated in 2023, an additional one million visitor days compared with visitor days generated in 2022; bucking the slow recovery trend for day visitors typically seen across the rest of the UK since the Covid pandemic. 

Despite the rise in visitors and visitor days, the value of tourism activity in the region was estimated to be £5.4bn, compared with £4.8bn in 2022, which represents a marginal decrease in real terms of -1.2 per cent when indexed to allow for rising inflation.

Lancashire’s visitor economy also supported a total of 57,311 full-time Equivalent jobs (FTEs) in 2023; an increase of 4.6 per cent on the year before.

Vikki Harris, marketing and partnerships director for marketing Lancashire said: “We are pleased to see the number of visitors to Lancashire continue to grow and the number of visitor days increase by 1 million in 2023.

“At -2.5 per cent behind pre-Covid visitor days, compared to the rest of England at -25 per cent visitor days, Lancashire is clearly showing a faster recovery from the impact of the pandemic on tourism. 

 She added: “In the last year we have seen new attraction and hotel openings, new restaurants and visitor experiences, so we would consider the sector to be relatively stable, despite the significant cost of living challenges faced by businesses and consumers.

“Alongside our district partners, we will continue to do everything in our power to support the sector and help grow new domestic and international visitors, with a specific focus on accessibility and sustainability; promoting Lancashire as a place that welcomes everyone and a destination that consistently offers good value days out and quality short breaks .”