Wirral economy massively boosted by Tall Ships event

Sep 19 2008

Crowds to see the tall ships at Wellington Dock, Liverpool _320

Tens of thousands of visitors descended on the Wirral for the Tall Ships Parade of Sail, council bosses has revealed.

The event in July attracted around 32,400 visitors to the area, including an estimated 16,000 who were either on their first visit to Wirral or who visited infrequently.

The parade had a major impact on Wirral’s tourism profile as other events continued to grow in popularity in Capital of Culture year, Wirral Council added.

Council chiefs said visitors injected around £750,000 into the local economy, although the actual full impact of the event was even greater, as residents also attended the event, taking the total spend figures to more than £1.5m.

The research shows that other annual events on the Wirral tourism calendar also proved popular this year with attendance figures up on previous years for the Food and Drink Festival, Kite Festival, Folk on the Coast, Beach Soccer and the Coastal Walk.

Councillor Bob Moon said: “The Tall Ships Parade of Sail was a huge success for Wirral and Merseyside and these figures only reinforce that fact.

“What the figures do also suggest is that there will be a legacy for Wirral as hopefully many visitors who enjoyed the Tall Ships will return to the Borough in the future to see what else there is for them to enjoy.”