Tourism Expenditure

11.25 The economic contribution of the cultural sector includes the spending of people who visit the region as domestic and inbound tourists. Tourism is a major industry in the South West, accounting for around 15% of UK domestic tourist visits and 9.6% of inbound ones to the UK. In 2005 the South West attracted 21.25 million domestic visitors from the UK (UK Tourism Survey) and 2.1 million visitors from overseas, (International Passenger Survey).

11.26 Of the reasons given for visiting the South West in 2005, 11.7 million (56%) were recorded under holiday / leisure/ pleasure. According to Visit Britain, visiting an historical site or heritage exhibit during 2003 motivated “in part, an estimated 8.3 million trips by domestic staying visitors”, that is 36% of all trips.

Table 11.3 Visitor Numbers at South West Sites 2004
Site

Visitor Numbers
Eden Project

1,200,000
Roman Baths Museum, Bath

867,724
Stonehenge

802,811
Moors Valley Country Park

770,0001

Longleat Estate

692,129
Dart Pleasure Craft Limited

676,973
Avon Heath Country Park

550,0002

Paignton Zoo

486,728
Tamar Cruising

400,000
Stourhead House

335,265
Cornish Cyder Farm

330,0003

Crickley Hill Country Park

314,963
Gloucester Cathedral

313,732
Wells Cathedral

300,000
1[estimate based on previous year's confirmed figure of 750,000]

2[estimate based on previous year's confirmed figure of 600,000]

3[estimate based on previous year's confirmed figure of 340,000]

Source: Visits to Visitor Attractions, Visit Britain, 2005

    11.27 According to the UK Tourism Survey and International Passenger Survey, domestic visitors contributed, in 2005, an estimated £3.8 billion in expenditure to the region's economy and inbound visitors contributed £868 million. Direct comparison between 2003 and 2005 data is not possible due to different methodologies but there are some indicative trends. Although the number of all visitors to the region has declined by nearly 6.8% since 2003, there has been only a 4.4% decrease in tourist spend (from £4.9 billion to £4.7 billion).

    11.28 Breakdown of expenditure in 2003 by category for domestic visitors coming to the South West was, reported by South West Tourism, as follows:

    • Package trip: £190 million
    • Accommodation (non package trip): £1.4 billion
    • Travel: £650 million
    • Services or advice: £80 million
    • Buying clothes: £270 million
    • Eating and drinking: £910 million
    • Other shopping: £250 million
    • Entertainment: £400 million
    • Other expenses: £130 million