Visit Essex reveals tourism is worth £3.5 billion to county

21st November 2024

Tourism is on the rise in Essex. Visit Essex, the county’s tourism organisation revealed the county had welcomed 54.2 million visitors last year, making the industry worth £3.5 billion. 

The results were announced at Visit Essex’s annual conference, which saw 100 Essex-based tourism businesses attend the event at the Marks Tey Hotel, Colchester on 13 November.  

The latest figures also showed an 11% rise in overnight stays, and a 5% increase in day trips. The data also revealed Essex to be the sixteenth most popular visitor destination in the country. The figures also highlighted that the tourism sector in Essex is larger than the construction, manufacturing or financial services sectors in the county. It also accounts for 10% of employment across Essex. 

The 2023 figures¹ at a glance:
- The volume of day trips from 2022 (50,380,000) is up 5% to 51,792,000
- The value of day trips from 2022 (£2,043,580,000) is up 7% to £2,186,530,000
- Number of overnight trips from 2022 (2,164,900) is up 11% to 2,404,200
- Total value of tourism from 2022 (£3,290,985,585) is up 5% to £3, 471,869,575
- Actual jobs from 2022 (63,404) is up 1% to 64,088

Councillor Mark Durham, Chair of Visit Essex, is delighted with the results. He said: “The figures for tourism in Essex are great news. More people are choosing to come and visit our wonderful county, which is helping to boost our wide variety of attractions and hospitality providers. The future is looking very promising for tourism in the county and we’re excited to work with businesses to further develop our offer.”

The Visit Essex conference focused on several top industry topics, such as accessibility, artificial intelligence and reduction of carbon footprint. The tourism organisation also provided a review of their current promotional and marketing activities, such as ‘The Big Weekend’ and ‘Essex Day’.  

Lisa Bone, Tourism and Place Marketing Manager, Visit Essex, was pleased with the outcomes of the day. She said: “The conference was a big success. It was wonderful to see so many tourism businesses in one room sharing their experiences from the last 12 months. The recent Essex Big Weekend, where residents have the opportunity, via a ballot, to visit our most cherished tourist attractions for free, was one of our most successful to date.”

Visit Essex also unveiled its new destination management plan, which outlines how it intends to grow the visitor economy over the next 10 years. The organisation will focus on leadership, partnership and collaboration, profile and perception, people development, place, product and business development as well as sustainability, accessibility and inclusivity. 

Commenting on the county’s Destination Development Plan VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “Great destinations are great places to live and work as well as to visit and strong governance can drive place-shaping and shift local and wider perceptions of the place which can contribute to local pride. Well run destinations can also attract new investment, increase income and create new jobs. At VisitEngland, we look forward to working with the Visit Essex LVEP and their partners to help realise the ambitions set out in this strategy.”

To discover more about Visit Essex, please view www.visitessex.com. 
Ends

Notes to the Editor
Visit Essex is the official tourism organisation and the only body specifically marketing the whole of the county to the visitor market. We work with visitor attractions, leisure/activity providers, accommodation establishments and other tourism related businesses (including the travel trade, media and wider partners), to ensure that the county remains a leading visitor destination.
Our work encompasses major marketing campaigns, high profile PR work, business support, and the management and promotion of the official Visit Essex brand. Visit Essex will ensure that the county gets the recognition it deserves as a desirable place to visit in the 21st century. We will work closely with partners to develop a sustainable tourism offering for the future, identify new markets and harness visitors at the county's major gateways of Stansted, Harwich, Southend and Tilbury.
¹Source, ‘Economic Impact of Tourism, Essex 2023’ by Destination Tourism.

For further information:
Hilary Collins/Carl Allen, Big Wave PR, hilary@wearebigwavepr.co.uk, or call 01206 231807. 

Photo: Visit Essex Conference 2024 Left to right  Andrew Stokes VisitEngland, Cllr Mark Durham Essex County Council, Lisa Bone Visit Essex, Jo Harris Three Horseshoes, Katy Pearson Life & Living Magazines