City's visitor economy grows for second year

Wolverhampton's visitor economy has grown for the second successive year, a new report has revealed.

They show the city's visitor economy was worth £506m in 2024, up 10.6% from the previous year.

Wolverhampton attracted more than 10.4m visitors - an increase of over 400,000 visitors from 2023's total of 10m.

The growth reflected the strong offer provided by the city's major visitor venues, such as the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, the arts centre, Arena Theatre, the racourse and The Halls.

The figures, compiled by independent tourism research body Global Tourism Solutions for the West Midlands Growth Company, illustrate the impact of tourism in the region in 2024.

They also show the number of full time equivalent jobs supported by direct and indirect tourism activities rose by 4.8%, from 4,553 to 4,772.

The latest visitor economy results also highlight the city's strong performance relative to the wider West Midlands, where growth across all three key indicators was more modest.

The city's visitor offering also now includes The Mander Centre's new leisure hub opened in May and the Lockworks Cinema, a new independent four-screen cinema at the Chubb Building, threw its doors open in July.

The council's arts and culture provision, including Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton hosting the first Kabaddi World Cup outside of Asia, and many smaller events in the city's parks and nature reserves, also contribute to the visitor attractions.

The figures come as a major boost ahead of a new City Centre Evening and Night time Economy Strategy set to be approved at Wednesday's council meeting.

Chair of the West Midlands Mayor's new Night time Economy Commission, Chris Burden, said: "The visitor economy is an important part of the economic mix for Wolverhampton and its continued growth is critical for the local economy – and providing job opportunities for our residents."

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