New Research Shows Strong Growth and Recovery for White Cliffs Country's Tourism

Dover District Council is welcoming news that Visit Kent’s latest Economic Impact Model for 2022 shows that the visitor economy in the area continues to grow. 

Data shows that the estimated spend in the district for overnight and day visitors for 2022 was more than £203m, (not including indirect/induced spend), compared with over £154m for 2021, an increase of more than 30%.  Data also shows that there were around 4.2 million combined day and overnight trips in the district in 2022.

Independent research commissioned by Visit Kent shows that by the end of 2022 for Kent: 

• The value of the county’s visitor economy increased compared to 2021 to over £3.7 billion, just behind the value in 2019 which topped £4.1 billion
• The number of tourism related jobs supported by the visitor economy increased by 27% to 74,462 jobs (compared with 2021), accounting for 10% of total employment in Kent last year. The number of tourism related jobs supported by the visitor economy in 2019 was 81,458 which accounted for 11% of total employment in the county
• There were almost 61 million combined day and overnight trips in 2022 - an 18% increase compared to the volume seen in 2021 and down only 9% compared to 2019.

The study uses the industry-respected Cambridge Economic Impact Model to measure the volume and value of tourism within a destination and the effect of visits and visitor expenditure on the local economy.

The figures show how Kent’s visitor economy continues to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cllr Kevin Mills, Leader of Dover District Council said: “This independent research shows great news for the tourism industry.  It demonstrates that the district continues to attract both domestic and international visitors and shows that White Cliffs Country continues to be a fantastic place to visit, with excellent connections, and world-class attractions for all the family.”

Visit Kent Chief Executive, Deirdre Wells OBE, said: “Encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend more while they are in the county has been a central part of our strategy over the last few years, so it is great to see that our efforts are paying off!”

For more information, please see the Visit Kent website or see the Visit Kent Press Release.  For more information on White Cliffs Country, please see www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk