2. Biz Network MAY 2023 29-56.qxp_Chamberlink 27/04/2023 09:46 Page 48
FOCUS FEATURE
TRAVEL & TOURISM
Tourism industry finding new ways to attract visitors Tourism is one of the East Midlands’ most important industries, but it has been through significant challenges over the past three years amid Covid-19 lockdowns and subsequent economic pressures. Jasmine Thompson takes a look at how the region’s ‘crown jewel’, the Peak District, is being promoted to attract domestic and overseas visitors, with an ambition to increase valuable overnight stays. he numbers are stark. Annual inflation is in double digits and at a 40-year high, creating a cost-of-living crisis that has seven in 10 people worried about covering essential bills, according to Nationwide’s latest research. One might presume this might have an equally severe impact on a tourism industry, which in the Peak District – the jewel in the East Midlands’ visitor economy crown – generated £1.9bn for the local economy and supported 31,000 jobs in 2021.
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Climbers take a break at Castle Naze – one of many outdoor pursuit attractions in the Peak District 48
business network May 2023