Bristol Airport claims its expansion plans could boost its contribution to the region's visitor economy by an estimated £380million by the mid-2020s and support nearly 7,000 jobs.
The tourism economy in the Bristol and Bath region is now an estimated £2.3billion a year, latest figures show.
This is being driven by overseas visitor spending, which was at a record high last year, research by Destination Bristol and Visit Bath found.
The airport, which is planning to increase its capacity to 12 million passengers a year, is already on track to handle more than 1.5 million journeys from overseas passengers, according to analysis of data by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The biggest market for visitors is currently Ireland, which accounts for just under 19 per cent of overseas passengers flying in and out of Bristol Airport.
Spain is second (16 per cent) followed by France (15 per cent), while Germany, the US, Portugal and the Netherlands are also bringing passengers in and out of the region.
Dave Lees, chief executive officer at Bristol Airport, said: “Tourism is a vital part of our economy in the South West so it is important that we make the region easily accessible from all over the world.
'It is important that we make the region easily accessible'
“By growing our route network and investing in passenger facilities we are making Bristol Airport an even more attractive gateway for overseas visitors.”
Bristol Airport’s plans, which have been submitted to North Somerset Council, have divided opinion in the region however.
The proposals include a new canopy at the front of the building, an additional multi-storey car park and improvements to on-site road layout.
But concerns span from climate change and traffic to noise and biodiversity, according to .
A decision on the proposals was due to be announced in the summer but has now been delayed until 2020.
There are currently 4005 objections and 1818 letters of support.
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