Research and Statistics

Tourism’s value to the Peak District and Derbyshire economy exceeded all expectations in 2018 – rising by 7.4 per cent to £2.5 billion.

Annual visitor numbers rose to 42 million, while the number of full time equivalent jobs supported by the visitor economy rose by 5.2 per cent to over 30,000.

2018 STEAM figures
The statistics above were measured by the 2018 Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor, a tourism economic impact modelling process which measures tourism.

Latest figures reveal the Peak District and Derbyshire’s tourism sector is now worth £2.3 billion to the local economy, supporting over 30,000 jobs and attracting 42 million people to the area in 2018 – marking another year of significant growth and a remarkable 7.4% increase on the previous year.

In line with the tourist board’s long-term strategy to increase overnight stays and visitor spend, the area saw a 13.5% increase in overnight stays in 2018 with an extra 504,000 bed nights across the region. Meanwhile day visitor levels were maintained with a moderate 1.3% increase on last year.

The rise in overnight stays has contributed to the significant increase in the overall value of the sector, with overnight visitor spend increasing by 19%, contributing to a total spend of £823 million during 2018.

The sector continues to support and sustain a significant amount of jobs across the area, with the number increasing by 5.2% and breaking the 30,000 mark for the first time.

The significant rise in tourism’s overall value signals that our long-term policy to run innovative and targeted marketing, PR and social media campaigns to encourage more people to come and stay for longer and to spend more money here is paying off.

Visit Peak District Digital Statistics
Between February and August 2018, our consumer-facing website, www.visitpeakdistrict.com, consistently ranked in the top ten most visited sites for around 150 UK destinations. More than a million user sessions were logged during this time, a rise of more than 37 per cent on the same period in 2017.

The site now also outranks Trip Advisor when people enter the keywords 'Accommodation in the Peak District' and 'Things to Do in the Peak District' on Google.

In addition, Visit Peak District & Derbyshire's social media following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has increased by 22 per cent in 2018 to over 100,000.