LIVERPOOL'S travel and tourism sector is welcoming a post-Covid resurgence.
 

New figures published have calculated vital information relating to Liverpool’s tourism sector, and show last year’s economic boost of more than £3.5 billion has outstripped previous City records.

Reflecting on 2022, the new statistics also highlight the number of visitors the City attracted, the accommodation usage and the number of local jobs supported.

Although not back to pre-pandemic levels, the City is seeing a significant recovery in the sector which is expected to continue in the wake of hosting events such as the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. In the 1st 6 months of 2023 alone, 934,000 hotel rooms were sold – the strongest sales in 5 years.

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, said:- “We’re delighted with the rate of recovery, and seeing such a significant economic boost is a real vote of confidence for a sector this city relies on so heavily upon. It’s important not to forget that at the start of 2021 Covid19 restrictions were still in place and it was a pretty bleak outlook for this industry, particularly in Liverpool; so these figures are a welcome confidence boost that show the city is bouncing back. And of course, we can expect another strong set of results next year when the data for 2023 is unveiled, as the City continues to bask in the afterglow of Eurovision. I’d like to thank those working in our visitor economy sector, they should be incredibly proud of their achievements in making Liverpool a must visit destination for all.”

Susan Finnegan, Acting Head of Visitor Economy, said:- “Liverpool’s visitor economy is resoundingly on the rise once again; it’s a return to true form and a clear sign of even greater things to come. But it’s important to note our job is far from over and we never rest on our laurels. There are still many challenges, but Liverpool and the wider City Region are resilient, resourceful and ready for any challenge. So, we are determined to continue to welcome even more visitors, encourage greater spending and longer stays and we’ll show the world what a truly amazing place Liverpool City Region is for visitors, residents and businesses alike.” 

Janet Nuzum, Visitor Economy Sector Manager at Growth Platform said:- "We are absolutely delighted to witness the resurgence of tourism in Liverpool City Region. And these figures can only go on an upward trajectory with the success of hosting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, The Open Championship, the Grand National Festival and other world-famous events. Eurovision alone is forecast to increase the number of visitors to the City region by around 5% for years to come; boosting the economy by £250m by 2026. There is of course still work to be done but the support and resilience of our local community, businesses, and tourism partners have not only been integral to this fantastic recovery but are key to the continued growth of our visitor economy.”

Liverpool’s figures for 2022 show:-

• The local economy received an impressive £3.58billion uplift, compared to £2.45billion in 2021 – an impressive 46% increase.
   
• The City welcomed 31.5million visitors compared to 23.9million in 2021 – a 32% increase.
   
• In total, the number of visitor days spent in Liverpool were 37.1million, compared to 27.7million in 2021 – a 34% increase.
   
• Hotel occupancy was up with 1.98million visitors compared to 1.24million in 2021. Non-serviced accommodation, such as Airbnb, also proved popular with more than 358,000 visitors using them compared to just over 228,000 in 2021.
   
• The number of jobs in the sector rose by more than 37%, with 35,060 people employed in 2022 and 25,535 in 2021.

The Liverpool specific data has been collated since 2011 and shows visitor figures peaked in 2018 with 38 million recorded; coinciding with the year-long celebration programme which marked a decade since the City’s European Capital of Culture title.

Some of the City Council organised major events to take place in Liverpool during 2022 were the:- World Gymnastics Championships, the Liverpool Football Club Victory Parade, River of Light, and the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The figures are produced by STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor); a nationally recognised measure of the UK tourism industry; and were commissioned by the Visitor Economy team at Growth Platform; Liverpool City Region Growth Company. Hotel occupancy data is provided by STR Global Ltd.