Shakespeare still has multi million pulling power

New figures have revealed that Shakespeare’s England attracted more than 10 million tourists trips last year – bringing £45 million a month to the local economy.

Shakespeare’s England, the Destination Management Organisation for South Warwickshire, has published a four per cent rise in the overall value of these increased trips which are worth more than £500 million annually.

The membership organisation, which works to promote the region to national and international audiences, has also seen a 7.3 per cent increase in the number of day trips to the region, helping to support more than 12,000 jobs in the sector.

The official Economic Impact Assessment of Tourism statistics published by Worcester-based The Research Solution are very pleasing viewing for Shakespeare’s England CEO, Helen Peters.

“These are extremely positive figures and again underline the importance of the sector to the local and regional economy,” she said.

“Everyone is aware of the challenges post-recession and pre-Brexit in the sector, so these figures are extremely welcome and do bode well for the future.

“Jobs in the sector grew by four per cent from 2016 and we hope to see a continued increase in employment opportunities in the tourism industry in South Warwickshire for 2018.

“South Warwickshire is a truly wonderful place to visit with so many different attractions and a rich history as a county that continues to attract visitors from around the world, but it is a very congested marketplace and we have to ensure we are leaving no stone unturned to pull in more visitors and get them to stay longer.

“In particular Stratford has an unending popularity as the birthplace of William Shakespeare and gives us a global platform to publicise our other attractions which range from cars to castles, butterflies to boating.

“We’ve been encouraging people to explore South Warwickshire beyond their day trips with our Stay, Play, Explore Scheme which aims at promoting overnight visits to the area with the many different types of accommodation we have to offer and the variety of attractions there are to enjoy.

“The total spend of tourists in Shakespeare’s England  for 2017 taking into account the multiplier effect,  was£691 million and we hope that with our efforts to promote the region as the perfect place to stay longer, travel further and spend more, we’ll continue to see this figure grow for 2018.

“We love celebrating South Warwickshire and it has so many exciting tourist attractions and hotels for visitors to stay in that we expect this rise in tourism to the county to continue.”