£1.27billion bounce-back for Warwickshire's visitor economy

“It is great news that visitor levels have recovered so strongly since the pandemic, but not surprising at all as our county is blessed with such a wonderful range of attractions.”

Warwickshire’s visitor economy has bounced back strongly from the pandemic with 15 million trips undertaken by visitors to the county in 2022.

There were 13.6 million day trips and 1.4 million overnight visits to the county by visitors who spent 4.5 million nights in the area.

The visitor economy supported 23,919 jobs in Warwickshire, a return to pre-pandemic levels of employment, with a total value to the Warwickshire economy of £1.27billion. This represents a healthy 48% increase on 2021 levels and, though still 4% down on pre-pandemic levels, reflects the steady improvement in tourism locally, nationally and internationally since Covid.  

The balance of domestic versus overseas travel is becoming closer to pre-pandemic levels, but financial pressures on holiday-makers mean that domestic trips in many cases remain the favoured option, so an element of 'staycation' preference  still remains. Inbound visits to the UK continued to recover to pre-pandemic levels. 

Warwickshire’s huge appeal to visitors has been vividly illustrated by the nomination of a number of businesses from the county among the finalists for the 2024 West Midlands Tourism Awards.  

Businesses from across the region’s accommodation, arts, food & drink, visitor attraction and heritage sectors are competing in categories including Experience of the Year, New Tourism Business and Taste of the West Midlands. The awards are delivered by the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) – the region’s destination marketing agency.

The winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony in early 2024 and will automatically be entered in the annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence for the chance to be recognised on a national level. 

The Warwickshire finalists are:

Shakespeare Distillery

Coombe Abbey Hotel

Warwick Castle

Warwick Conferences

The Coach House, Stratford-upon-Avon

Cotswolds Distillery

Shakespeare's Schoolroom & Guildhall

Libertine Burger

Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture, Cllr Heather Timms, said: “It is a fantastic to see so many Warwickshire businesses among the finalists for the awards and they are just the tip of the iceberg of the wonderful tourism sector in our county.

“It is great news that visitor levels have recovered so strongly since the pandemic, but not surprising at all as our county is blessed with such a wonderful range of attractions.”