Archive Council News

This page is a news release published by Wrexham County Borough Council.
Content Author: pressoffice@wrexham.gov.uk

17 August 2010

Tourism continues to boost Wrexham’s economy

Latest research shows tourism was worth over a staggering £79 million to the Wrexham economy last year.

Figures for 2009 reveal a £200,000 increase compared to the previous year and an overall increase of 4% since 2004.

Over 1.56 million tourists visited the borough, including day-trippers and people staying overnight.

The statistics have been put together for Wrexham Council by research specialists Global Tourism Solutions, using visitor numbers supplied by local hotels, tourist attractions and other businesses.

The figures are fed into an internationally recognised research formula, which does the number-crunching needed to calculate the value of tourism to the local economy .

The process involves collecting and inputting huge amounts of data, which is why the results for 2009 are only just emerging.

Councillor Rodney Skelland, lead member for regeneration and corporate governance, said: “The value of tourism to Wrexham can’t be under-estimated and to see another increase – albeit a modest one – in last year’s economic climate is encouraging.

“A large number of jobs and businesses depend on visitors coming to the borough, and this kind of research provides the council with vital clues as to how the local tourism economy is performing from year-to-year.”

It seems the trend of holidaying at home continued in 2009, with more cash-strapped holiday-makers snubbing trips abroad in favour of short breaks in the UK.

Councillor Skelland said: “2009 was obviously a tough year for many business sectors, yet it is encouraging to see that Wrexham’s tourism industry was able to provide a strong offer in the market place and continue its growth.”

“There are still predictions that more people will continue to holiday at home – potentially boosting trade for some tourism businesses. However, we’ll only have a real insight into the continued impact of the recent economic downturn when statistics for the first six months become available later this year.”

back to the top