Tourism is great for Gloucestershire

Tourism in Gloucestershire is a thriving part of our local economy, and has been managed over the past 2 years by the two Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) in the area - Cotswolds Tourism and Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Tourism Association.

GFirst LEP is fully supportive of the work of the two DMOs, and considers tourism an important sector for the county - as it has recently received £1.6 million of European funding (EAFRD).

GFirst LEP recently invited Business Group members to hear from the local DMOs about the recent projects and successes of tourism in the county, and now figures from Gloucestershire’s Economic Impact report have recently been published, showing positive statistics for the Gloucestershire’s economy. Within Gloucestershire tourism related employment is currently at 8%, with over 25,000 individuals in employment within the sector, totaling £1billion of turnover by those businesses supported by tourism activity.

David Owen, Chief Executive of GFirst LEP, commented: “The DMOs are in a great position to lead on tourism at a local level, to manage the local visitor economy and promote the districts of Gloucestershire as a unique place to visit. As we can see from the recent statistics, tourism is tremendously important in supporting local jobs and our economy; we are keen to keep boosting the tourism sector by integrating the projects into the current work of the GFirst LEP Business Groups.”

Cotswolds Tourism Chief Executive Robin Tjolle said: “The figures from our recent research underlines the importance of tourism to the Gloucestershire economy. Organisations such as Cotswolds Tourism and the Forest  and Dean and Wye Valley Tourism Association are a really important way of managing and promoting tourism to the area in a joined up and co-ordinated way. We are looking forward to working with GFirst LEP to develop and grow the sector and continued support from both the public and private sector. ”

More details on the impact tourism is having on the Gloucestershire economy can be found on the GFirst LEP website.