STEAM Report 2022

More than 50 million visitors headed to Cheshire and Warrington to enjoy its excellent tourism offering in 2022 with new figures showing the region’s visitor economy valued at £3.41bn as it shows positive signs of recovery after the pandemic.

Data analysed by Marketing Cheshire from the latest STEAM economic impact report shows that visitor economy jobs and the number of tourists continues to rise across Cheshire and Warrington.

And in another encouraging development the analysis shows that overnight stays increased year-on-year across Cheshire and in some parts of the region actually exceeded figures recorded before the pandemic.

Today tourism officials cautiously welcomed the findings, noting that there are encouraging signs but that there is still work to be done. Trevor Brocklebank, Chair of Marketing Cheshire said: “While we must remain focused, we’re pleased with the results of the report. It is good news that the sector is continuing to recover after the pandemic and highlights the hard work of businesses and high-quality tourism offering we have across the region, and the billions they generate for the visitor economy. We will continue to work hard to ensure a sustained recovery.”

The figures show that in 2022 the region’s visitor economy was worth £3.41bn up 16% on the previous year and moving towards the £4.32bn recorded in 2019 before the pandemic.

While the Covid lockdowns hit the sector significantly it continues to rebound with the pull of the region’s attractions seeing Cheshire as a whole welcome 50.2m visitors in 2022 - nearly six million more than the 44.33m recorded in 2021.

In Cheshire East the visitor economy value rose 11% from the previous year to £879.3m edging closer to pre-pandemic 2019 levels of just over £1.1bn - with annual visitors rising by 8% from 11.85m in 2021 to 12.8m in 2022. This compares to 16.28m in 2019.

Cheshire West and Chester visitors rose from 24.5m in 2021 to 28.69m in 2022 –a 17.1% rise compared to 37.39m in 2019. This helped its visitor economy value increase by 19.9% over the same period to £1.99bn and compares to the £2.51bn in 2019.

Warrington’s visitor economy was valued at £539.41m in 2022 up 10% on the previous year and edging closer to the £697.96m pre-pandemic figure in 2019. Visitors  increased from 7.98m in 2021 to 8.71m in 2022 – a 9.2% year-on-year rise. This compares to 11.2m in 2019.

Employment in the visitor economy also continues to grow across Cheshire from a low of 25,243 jobs in 2020 to 34,998 in 2022compared to the 44,937 people with visitor economy jobs in 2019.

Rises occurred in all of the region’s local authority areas with the number of staying visitors in Cheshire West and Chester in 2022 rising by 37.5% to 1.6m - beating the 1.55m figure recorded pre-covid in 2019.

The full regional breakdowns by local authority area can be seen in the tables below.

Colin Potts, Chair of Destination Cheshire said: “It is very encouraging to see that despite the difficult economic conditions, the number of overnight visitors in Cheshire West & Chester’s hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation was back to the record numbers of 2019 in 2022. This shows the underlying strength of the borough’s historic city and countryside tourism offer.

“Although inflation adjusted income from visitors is also back to pre-pandemic levels this does not mean that accommodation profitability is at 2019 levels though, as operators have had to absorb the bulk of rising costs rather than passing them on to customers.

“The challenge for attractions is equally tough particularly as the day trip market has recovered more slowly than accommodation. This is a trend that is common across the country.

“Overall it is mixed picture but with some very positive indicators. We should remember of course that this information is only until the end of 2022. The economy has had ten months of general improvement since so I am confident that the 2023 figures will be better still. Trading conditions are still very difficult for our visitor economy sector and its businesses need all of our continued support.”

Eleanor Underhill, Chair of Destination Cheshire said residents and tourists combined have contributed to the recovery “It’s good to see that after a difficult period the Visitor Economy in Cheshire is continuing its recovery.

“It is a testament to the enduring magic of Cheshire and the warm welcome provided by our Cheshire businesses that visitors are returning to spend and stay and experience all that our region has to offer.

“Although there is a way to go before visitor numbers and spending are back to pre-covid levels it’s encouraging to see the positive increase over the last few years and we’re looking forward to seeing these increase again in the 2023 report.

“Through collaboration and shared experience, the members of Destination Cheshire will continue to work together to reaffirm Cheshire's position as a thriving destination that has so much to offer.”

 

	Cheshire Wide
Total Visits	Number	% Change
2019	64.88m	2.5% increase
2020	35.96m	44.6% decrease
2021	44.33m	23.3% increase
2022	50.2m	13.2% increase

 

	Cheshire Wide
Economic Impact	£	% Change
2019	4.32bn	2.3% increase
2020	2.28bn	47.4% decrease
2021	2.94bn	29% increase
2022	3.41bn	16% increase

 

	Cheshire Wide
Visitor Economy Employment	Number	% Change
2019	44,937	1.5% increase
2020	25,243	43.8% decrease
2021	30,923	22.5% increase
2022	34,998	13.2% increase

 

	Cheshire Wide
Staying Visitors	Number	% Change
2019	3.69m	1% increase
2020	1.38m	62.6% decrease
2021	2.75m	98.8% increase
2022	3.6m	31% increase

 

	Warrington
Total Visits	Number	% Change
2019	11.21m	3.3% increase
2020	6.31m	43.7% decrease
2021	7.98m	26.4% increase
2022	8.71m	9.2% increase

 

	Warrington
Economic Impact	£	% Change
2019	697.96m	2.8% increase
2020	371.65m	46.8% decrease
2021	486.43m	30.9% increase
2022	539.41m	10% increase

 

	Warrington
Visitor Economy Employment	Number	% Change
2019	7,188	2.1% increase
2020	4,107	42% decrease
2021	5,069	23.4% increase
2022	5,549	9.5% increase

 

 

	Warrington
Staying Visitors	Number	% Change
2019	602,033	0.5% decrease
2020	221,639	63.2% decrease
2021	444,599	100.6% increase
2022	570,102	28.2% increase

 

	Cheshire East
Total Visits	Number	% Change
2019	16.28m	1.3% increase
2020	9.53m	41.5% decrease
2021	11.85m	24.4% increase
2022	12.8m	8% increase

 

	Cheshire East
Economic Impact	£	% Change
2019	1.12bn	0.7% increase
2020	598.93m	46.4% decrease
2021	792.52m	32.3% increase
2022	879.31m	11% increase

 

	Cheshire East
Visitor Economy Employment	Number	% Change
2019	11,812	0.3% increase
2020	6,959	41.1% decrease
2021	8,648	24.3% increase
2022	9,217	6.6% increase

 

	Cheshire East
Staying Visitors	Number	% Change
2019	1.54m	0.6% increase
2020	0.58m	62.1% decrease
2021	1.14m	95.7% increase
2022	1.43m	25.6% increase

 

	Cheshire West
Total Visits	Number	% Change
2019	37.39m	2.7% increase
2020	20.12m	46.2% decrease
2021	24.5m	21.8% increase
2022	28.69m	17.1% increase

 

 

	Cheshire West
Economic Impact	£	% Change
2019	2.51bn	2.9% increase
2020	1.3bn	48% decrease
2021	1.66bn	26.9% increase
2022	1.99bn	19.9% increase

 

	Cheshire West
Visitor Economy Employment	Number	% Change
2019	25,937	1.8% increase
2020	14,177	45.3% decrease
2021	17,206	21.4% increase
2022	20,233	17.6% increase

 

	Cheshire West
Staying Visitors	Number	% Change
2019	1.55m	3.1% increase
2020	0.58m	62.8% decrease
2021	1.16m	101.2% increase
2022	1.6m	37.5% increase