According to Reddy (2006), the concept of the visitor economy is broader than the economic activities of visitors only. Instead, it embraces all elements that make for a successful visitor destination. In his report (p.4), the concept of visitor economy covers:
- All of the things that attract visitors; this means the diverse range of destinations of the region, the natural environment, the heritage and culture, iconic buildings, the retail, sport, leisure and cultural facilities, food, gardens, the events, the scenery; all the things that make the place special, distinctive and capable of engendering pride and interest and a place worth experiencing.
- The infrastructure that helps to reinforce and shape the sense of place and make it an easy place to visit; the signs, the transport, parking and orientation, interpretation, public space, amenities, etc.
- The services that cater for the needs of visitors (and of residents), that create economic and social activity and increase spending; including the hotels and bars, pubs and restaurants, galleries, the everyday events and the day-to-day services that make the place clean, safe and welcoming.
In thinking about this concept of the visitor economy, it is not ‘tourist-centred’, but more widely ‘place-centred’ approach. This place-oriented thinking is valuable for a policy interest – identifying resources to attract visitors, upgrading infrastructures to maintain workers and communities, and providing high quality of services and experiences. The more economical activities, entrepreneurship opportunities and lived neighbourhoods become attractiveness that matter to the social and cultural successes of the destinations.
From an academia perspective, Li and Liu (2022) further their research on the ‘Competitiveness’ in the visitor economy. Their special issue with nine journal articles has explored the visitor economy’s competitiveness at the destination, sector and business levels.
From a destination perspective, VisitBritain and VisitEngland, at national level, have published the Annual Survey Report of Visitor Attraction Trends in England 2021. At local level, the West Lindsey District Council, has also published the latest Visitor Economy Strategy to engage and support key stakeholders, encourage visitors’ length of stay, and empower visitor’s power of spend.
Despite a distinction between visitor economy and tourism economy, the measurement of economic impact is mainly replying on quantitative approach. According to VisitKentBusiness, the Cambridge Economic Model, for example, is often used in the measurement of tourism’s economic impact. It is “a spreadsheet model that produces estimates from existing national and local information (e.g. accommodation stock and inbound trips) of the level of tourism activity within a given local area. The volume of visits is translated into economic terms by estimating the amount of spending by visitors based on their average spend per trip. In turn, the impact of that spending can be translated to estimate the effects in terms of business turnover and jobs”.
This standard measurement provides a general picture of “the total amount spent by visitors, total amount of income for local residents and businesses created by this spending, and the number of jobs supported by visitor spending”. Apparently the degree of total visitor spending affects the number of business opportunities, jobs, and local incomes. The examples of Kent Tourism Economic Impact Study Infographic are showing as below,
If you want to see specific areas’ visitor economic impact study in Kent, you can further read via here.
References:
Li, G. & Liu, A. (2022). Editorial of the Special Issue on Competitiveness in the Visitor Economy: New Trends, Issues, and Perspectives. Tourism Economics, 28(3), 661-664.
Reddy, P. (2006). Understanding the Visitor Economy. https://culturehive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Understanding-the-Visitor-Economy.pdf
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