Hotel occupancy in Greater Manchester hit 80 per cent in 2017, despite a year of ‘great difficulties’ for the city.

Hotel occupancy in Greater Manchester hit 80 per cent in 2017, despite a year of ‘great difficulties’ for the city.

The result matches the previous record occupancy levels set in 2015 and comes as welcome news, given the challenges faced following the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017 and the subsequent closure of the venue for several months.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack Marketing Manchester – working in partnership with VisitBritain, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Transport for Greater Manchester and the Heart of MCR BID – delivered campaigns to mitigate against a significant downturn in visitors to the region.

Sheona Southern, managing director of Marketing Manchester, said: “It is well documented that 2017 was a difficult year for tourism in Greater Manchester. The Manchester Arena attack was a very tough period for our residents; however, as Greater Manchester’s promotional agency it was important that we kept working to deliver strong campaigns that globally projected a positive image of the city and its wonderful people.

“We worked closely with partners to bid for funding that would allow us to deliver activity such as our “Come Together Manchester” campaign which continues to run both locally and internationally with an invitation to experience the spirit of diversity that makes Greater Manchester what it is.”

Marketing Manchester also delivered the Worker Bee Weekend, which saw more than 75 social media influencers from around the world descend on Manchester in July, showcasing the city and spreading the message that Manchester was open and ready to welcome visitors. The project is set to be repeated next month in partnership with London & Partners.

Southern added: “Whilst there are a great number of factors that affect tourism, I’m confident that our strong and well measured campaigns have played a significant part in keeping up the profile of Greater Manchester as a visitor destination and thereby contributing to the strong hotel occupancy figures the region has achieved in the face of great difficulties.”

Nick Brooks-Sykes, director of tourism at Marketing Manchester, said: “We had four record hotel occupancy months within both Manchester city centre and Greater Manchester in 2017 (January, April, May and December) and the city centre also achieved a new record in November. There were undoubtedly challenges in the middle portion of the year, however, overall the annual occupancy rate was 80 per cent which matches the record set in 2015 and exceeds the 79 per cent occupancy achieved in 2016.

“In the face of challenges, not only from the Manchester Arena attack but also with the addition of 1,290 more bedrooms at new hotels in 2017, this news is positive and says a lot about how robust the tourism industry can be in the short term.

Tourism in Greater Manchester is currently valued as being worth £8.1 billion to the local economy and supports 94,000 jobs.

Source: Meetpie