TOURISM events in Wirral boosted the local economy by more than £2m over the course of this year.

Major events such as the Food and Drink Festival at Claremont Farm and the RNLI Lifeboat Day, in Hoylake, accounted for more than half that total.

According to figures compiled by The Mersey Partnership (TMP), six major events during 2010 contributed at least £2.09m to the Wirral economy.

The Wirral Food and Drink Festival, with an attendance of 24,000, saw a boost to the local economy of £550,000, and the Hoylake Lifeboat Day is estimated to have brought in around £600,000.

Cabinet member for culture and tourism, Cllr David Elderton, said these events, and others, were aimed not only at Wirral residents but also at bringing tourists into the borough.

He said: “If we can show people what Wirral can offer, it’s bound to improve the local economy.

“We are known as the ‘leisure peninsula’ and we need to continue to promote that.”

Cllr Elderton also pointed to the boost the borough received from the 2006 Open, which attracted thousands of spectators to the area and provided Wirral with considerable national and international exposure.