Hotel and Leisure
The visitor economy is worth almost £1.25 billion to Leicester and Leicestershire. More than 19,600 jobs are supported by the tourism sector and the number of overnight visitors to Leicester and Leicestershire stands at just under 1.5 million*.
The destination has great strengths in both the leisure and business tourism sectors, including its central location and accessibility, as well as fantastic attractions and venues such as the National Forest, National Space Centre, Twycross Zoo, Bosworth Battlefield, Donington Park, Great Central Railway, Foxton Locks, imago, Marriott Hotel and may others.
The city and county can boast a distinctive food offering, a rich history and heritage, idyllic countryside, high quality sporting facilities and water resources, and stunning arts and culture. Leicester is also unique in having two music festivals - Download and Summer Sundae - as well as the largest local food festival in the UK.
As a result of this flourishing visitor economy, there are a number of opportunities in the hotel and leisure sector for investors, agents and developers to make a mark through high quality hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities.
Once here, there is extensive support for leisure & tourism businesses through the tourism industry website at http://tourism.goleicestershire.com. Run by Leicester Shire Promotions, it provides an invaluable resource for the Leicester and Leicestershire tourism industry, containing the latest news and developments, legislation and events, details on grant opportunities and all the latest postings in the information section.
* The 2007 research was commissioned by emda's tourism arm, East Midlands Tourism and conducted by Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM), is the third major study into the economic impact of tourism at regional and county/city level and provides the most comprehensive review of the value, volume and economic impact of tourism in the East Midlands to date.