THE famed Mersey ferries contribute more than £34m a year to the region’s tourism trade, a report has revealed.
The North West research service for tourism and economic development released figures showing the ferries attracted 343,000 visitors last year.
Around 16% of those travelled to Merseyside from overseas.
The Mersey ferries work alongside other popular dockside attractions to generate tourism in the region.
The report found their appeal to visitors was continuing to expand.
It estimated that the popularity of the ferries and their associated attractions could grow by more than 25% in the next decade.
That would attract around 300,000 extra visitors to Merseyside based on current tourism numbers.
Merseytravel chief executive Neil Scales said the research service’s findings meant the Mersey ferries were a “fantastic success story”.
He said more than £50m was spent rebranding the ferries when it became clear they would struggle to exist solely as a commuter service.
