UNITED KINGDOM: Holidaymakers Spend £218m In Weymouth And Portland

THE latest tourism figures show Weymouth and Portland is going "from strength to strength" as a visitor destination.

Data compiled by the South West Research Company reveals that visitors spent a total of £218m in the borough last year and that almost one in five people – 17 per cent – are employed in jobs which are directly or indirectly related to tourism.

Cllr Jason Osborne, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council spokesperson for tourism, said the figures are "encouraging".

He added: “I’m delighted with it. There are so many things we are bringing in and changing to push the area forward and this report shows that the area is going from strength to strength.”

The Visit Dorset website has published the figures annually since 2011, and they show a steady increase in visitor spend.

More than two million people visited Weymouth and Portland for day trips in 2014 and 459,000 people stayed for one night or more.

West Dorset is striding ahead, with tourists spending £328m in the district in 2014, more than five million day visits and 584,000 staying visitor trips.

But the figures show Weymouth and Portland is performing well when it comes to money spent during business trips in the borough.

Those who visited from the UK spent £12m in the borough. In West Dorset the figure was £8.9m and £15m was spent in Bournemouth during business trips.

Cllr Osborne said the business spend figure shows Weymouth and Portland can compete as a business destination.

“We need to look at how we can convert these day trippers to overnight visitors. If we can do that, and secure the ferry link, Weymouth and Portland will be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to visitor destinations in the south west.”

Commenting on the seasonal nature of business in the borough, he added: “I think every business and every town has highs and lows throughout the year. You need to be able to capitalise as much as you can in season to feather your nest during the quieter months.

“A seasonal economy is nothing to be alarmed about but we do need to be able to cope with the demands of the season. It’s important that we don’t lose any more hotels to private ownership or houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs).”

Nigel Reed, manager of Weymouth Business Improvement District (BID), said the visitor spend is ‘a huge amount’.

“We are trying to diversify the town into a wider skills base, and we are known for our high quality engineering, but they tend to be smaller companies doing their own thing.
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“Tourism is huge in Weymouth and it’s one of those markets which does not go away. It is notoriously low paid and seasonal, but if you look at how the town used to pretty much shut down over the winter 30 or 40 years ago and compare that to now, it does look as though the season is getting longer.

“It shows how important tourism is for our economy, whatever people think about that.”