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Economic Impact of Tourism (2020 results)
Research completed and report produced by Visit Kent using the Cambridge Model (26 January 2022).
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant global disruption to the visitor economy sector and this is reflected in the results of the latest study into the Economic Impact of Tourism in Swale during 2020. The Swale Borough followed this trend with significant impact by the pandemic, but it also saw the smallest decline in total visits of any district across the county (39.4%).
In addition, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) accounted for 53% of overnight trips during 2020 in Swale. This figure rose proportionally by 9% (up from 44% in 2019).
When looking at direct expenditure associated with trips, visitors proportionally spent 3% more on food & drink in Swale than they did in 2019 (from 35% in 2019 to 38% in 2020).
There were 3.3 million day trips undertaken in the area, which breaks down as 3.1 million day trips and 180,000 overnight trips (0.7 million overnight trips in the area).
The total value of tourism, including all visitor spend, as well as associated and indirect spending was £102 million, including a total of £90 million spent directly by tourists during their visit (an average of £7 million each month); £25 million from overnight visits and £62 million from day trips.
The sector supported 3,264 jobs in the borough, with 2,966 direct tourism jobs and 298 non-tourism related jobs supported by the visitor economy.
Use the link below to download the full report:
