Over 31,000 jobs have been lost in the Liverpool City Region's tourism sector as the pandemic lockdowns cost the region billions in visitor spending, new figures have shown.
According to research commissioned by the Visitor Economy Team at Growth Platform, the region’s tourism industry had been growing steadily in recent years, with spending in the city region reaching £4.98bn in 2019.
However, the income generated from the sector has fallen 58% due to Covid restrictions imposed.
The various local and national lockdowns linked to the coronavirus pandemic saw nationally inbound visits down 73% and many companies in the sector struggling to survive.
The findings were contained in the latest independent research commissioned by the Visitor Economy Team at Growth Platform – the Liverpool City Region Growth Company, also saw inbound visitor spend fall by 79% last year, with average hotel occupancy down by 51%.
Laura Pye, chair of the Visitor Economy Board for the city region, said: “The visitor economy has been one of the hardest hit sectors by Covid-19, and until last year had seen an encouraging climb in economic growth.
"Despite this, the sector remains of the highest importance to the Liverpool City Region. The focus is now firmly on recovery, which is already showing encouraging signs as we move out of restrictions.
"The new Visitor Economy Recovery Strategy for the region, soon to be published, will be instrumental in this and with emphasis on investment. There are already a number of initiatives underway to help, ranging from marketing to business support and skills.”
As part of the city region’s recovery efforts, Growth Platform said it has worked closely with the Visitor Economy Network and its partners to develop a new two-year recovery strategy.
The recovery plan for the city region visitor economy will cover a range of initiatives including skills training, business support and destination marketing.
