Tourism industry hosts employment forum as visitor numbers increase

On the day that it announced the Lancashire's tourism figures have risen again, Marketing Lancashire held an employment forum to help create 5,000 new jobs by 2020.

Organised in partnership with the Lancashire Skills & Employment Hub, the Lancashire Tourism & Hospitality Skills & Employment Forum saw more than 50 industry representatives debate the topic at Brockholes Conference Centre.

Marketing Lancashire also released new data showing that the tourism industry generates £4.13bn in visitor spending (a 5.3 per cent year-on-year increase) and supports 59,000 jobs - one in ten jobs locally. Visitor figures are up 4.5 per cent to 67m.

The forum addressed the current skills and employment issues affecting tourism and hospitality businesses, as well as raising awareness of existing support and exploring ideas to attract and develop local talent.

Dr Michele Lawty-Jones, director of Lancashire Skills Hub, said the purpose of the event was to initiate a conversation with local visitor economy businesses and education providers to better understand skills and employment issues in the sector. "The feedback from attendees was extremely useful," she said. “The two key issues that emerged were communication – in terms of getting the messages out to businesses about the support available, and encouraging young people to consider the breadth of careers opportunities available to them in the sector.”