Tourism boost for Brighton and Hove

The number of overnight visitors to Brighton and Hove rose 5 per cent in the most recent year for which figures are available.

And the same research estimated that the value of tourism for the Brighton and Hove economy rose 4.3 per cent to £753 million.

The figures come from a research study called the Economic Impact of Tourism Brighton and Hove 2012 by Tourism South East.

It said that total visitor numbers stood at about 8.5 million, unchanged on 2011, overnight stays rose 5 per cent to 1.4 million.

The total number of visitor nights spent in the city rose by 7.5 per cent to 4.8 million.

The tourism sector employed more than 19,000 people or the equivalent of 14,600 full-time staff.

Councillor Geoffrey Bowden, the chairman of the Brighton and Hove City Council Economic Development and Culture Committee, said: “I’ve no doubt it’s been a difficult time for families and businesses but these figures show we have remained very successful at bringing people to the city.

“It’s testament to the quality of our tourism offer that visitors spent more money here in 2012 than they did the year before when the nation was generally tightening its belt. It’s likely that the Olympics helped.

“We’ll still be striving to make the place yet more attractive to visitors.

“The arches being built on the seafront will really smarten the area near the West Pier, bringing new cafés and shops.

“And we’re working with organisers to stage another fantastic season of large events to draw the crowds.”

Glynn Jones, the chairman of Brighton and Hove’s newly formed Tourism Advisory Board, said: “It is vitally important that the city, in partnership with business, finds ways of investing in the seafront and also addresses the ever-changing demands of our visitors by improving and extending the range of world class and state-of-the-art attractions that we can offer.”

Mr Jones, chairman of the West Pier Trust and a former chief executive of the council, added: “If we fail to do this, existing visitors and, importantly, those thinking of visiting us for the first time will go elsewhere where the offer is better.”