Attractions such as Bradgate Park, the Richard III Visitor Centre and National Space Centre helped bring in 30.5 million visitors to Leicester and Leicestershire last year 鈥 up almost 2.4 million on the year before.
The region鈥檚 list of national attractions as well as its as its museums, festivals, sporting venues and hotels, helped visitor numbers in Leicester and Leicestershire pass pre-Covid levels last year.
New figures suggest the city saw more than 9.91 million visitors while more than 20.6 million visitors came to the county in 2022.
Marketing company Visit Leicester said the tourism economy was worth 拢2.07 billion to the city and county last year, up 拢440 million on 2021 and 拢108 million up on pre-pandemic figure of 拢1.962 billion.
Visit Leicester said the rate of growth was bigger than Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, at 27.1 per cent year-on-year 鈥 compared to 15.6 per cent growth for neighbouring county and its main city.
The new figures also show that the number of tourism-related jobs is on the rise, with more than 21,000 people now employed in the sector across the city and the county 鈥 up 20 per cent.
Non-serviced accommodation including self-catering, camping and glamping, has surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 figures, showing the strongest recovery in the accommodation market with an economic impact of 拢95.12 million to the region.
The tourism figures for Leicester and Leicestershire are taken from the 2022 Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM) survey.
The city and county are promoted nationally and internationally through a series of tourism campaigns delivered by Visit Leicester.
Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: 鈥淭his is excellent news. The economic value of tourism in Leicester has grown by 36 per cent since 2021, and investor confidence in tourism is high, as demonstrated by the huge increase in the number of hotels in the city.
鈥淭he growth we鈥檝e seen in tourism-related jobs gives a huge boost to our economy, as do the millions of visitors who come here every year and spend their money in local businesses.
鈥淚t shows that our investment in making the city easy to get around, and an attractive place to be has been well worth it. It also reflects the huge efforts of all those working in the tourism and hospitality sector in our city.鈥
County council leader Nick Rushton said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e naturally delighted to see the strong growth in our tourism economy, and the creation of an extra 2,000 jobs in the county by the sector in 2022 is particularly welcome.
鈥淲ith nearly 14,000 now working in the tourism sector it highlights just how important tourism is to the county.
鈥淟eicestershire has an incredible history and story to tell and we鈥檙e glad to see this post pandemic resurgence in visitors, which is translating into increased spend in the local economy and new jobs.鈥
