The Liverpool City Region has suffered a 'devastating' £3 billion blow to its tourism and visitor economy over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
New figures lay bare the crushing impact the crisis has had on the region's vital sectors, which previously supported 55,000 jobs and generated around £5 billion each year.
Before covid arrived, Liverpool was the 5th most visited city in the UK by international visitors - reflecting its growth into a world-famous tourist destination.
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But the pandemic - and the lockdowns that came with it - were felt most brutally by hospitality and tourism businesses.
In 2020, the LCR visitor economy’s 7,840 businesses took a 58% hit to income and the conference and events sector was left “decimated”.
International tourists are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels before 2025 and the business events sector may not fully recover before 2028, the report warns.
According to Office of National Statistics figures, sectors of the visitor economy lost between 39% and 89% of their output during the year.
Now Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram is putting forward a number of 'urgent interventions' as well as longer term measures to try and help the industry return to full health.
The new strategy will work to support the sector in the short term with a range of interventions, including the important events and conference sector, which in normal times brought much-needed income via a steady stream of delegates, often in winter and during the week.
The City Region strategy looks to capitalise on pent-up demand, restore confidence and develop new markets.
It also seeks to bridge a damaging skills gap and staff shortages, proposes a rethink of the way tourist bodies are funded and identifies an urgent need for continued public support until the industry is strong enough to support itself.
The strategy sets out five priority areas, aligned with national Government priorities, around key markets, rebuilding confidence and resilience.
Destination marketing is to be carried out over the next three years using a £3.2m of public and private sector investment to generate demand for leisure and business tourists.
A further £3.1m plan over two years using Strategic Investment Funding and private sector funding is designed to help rebuild the conference and events sector, which was hit hard.
To restore the sector to full health, new funding models to support major venues in bidding for conferences and events are being explored.
Also, the way small tourism businesses are supported needs a radical new approach if the sector is to bounce back, the report says.
The report points to a number of large-scale projects, which could help draw post-Covid tourists and give the Liverpool City Region an advantage in the fiercely competitive, tourism market.
These include the £12m dockside Eureka children’s museum, the £30m Shakespeare North theatre in Prescot and Everton FC’s iconic £500m riverside stadium at Bramley Moore Dock.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Our city region is a national and international destination of choice, renowned for culture, music, sport, hospitality and much, much more.
“The visitors who come to soak up our unique offer are starting to return and breathe fresh life into our economy and the short-term predictions are encouraging.
“We’ve helped more than 4,500 local businesses with over £45m worth of funding to keep them afloat during the pandemic but the effect on the visitor economy has been seismic and the shock waves may last for some time.
“I want us to economically recover from Covid quickly so we can get back to where we were pre-pandemic as the fastest growing city region in the country.”
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Culture, Tourism and Visitor Economy Portfolio Holder Cllr Mike Wharton said: “The Covid pandemic had a dramatic impact on our world-renowned visitor economy but we have shown great resilience and with the help of more than £45m of Combined Authority funding we are already bouncing back.
“This strategy will enable the entire city region to compete with other parts of the UK and abroad.”
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