STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) figures for 2022 have shown a considerable rise in the economic impact of tourism for Denbighshire.

Figures show that tourism generated £628million in 2022, beating the pre-COVID-19 number in 2019 of £552m by almost 14 per cent.

The number of staying visitors also increased in comparison to 2019, with 1.64 million deciding to stay within the county in 2022, an increase of 3.1 per cent.

Total visitor numbers were up by 0.6 per cent in comparison to the 2019 pre-pandemic numbers, with 6.03 million visiting Denbighshire in 2022.

READ MORE:

Rhyl attempted murder charges dropped as defendants to be sentenced

Work set to start on building new Rhyl 62-bed mental health unit

Family feel ‘so much happier’ after being moved from Rhyl to St Asaph

The numbers show that the tourism sector is bouncing back well, with the number of staying visitors up by 56.1 per cent in 2022, when compared with the 2021 figures.

Cllr Jason McLellan, leader of Denbighshire County Council and lead member for economic growth and tackling deprivation, said: “These figures are very welcome and demonstrate the importance of tourism to the local economy and the resilience of this sector in what has been a challenging period for the industry.”

Cllr Win Mullen James, lead member for local development and planning, said: “Our coastal and rural attractions have both demonstrated strong increases in economic impact in comparison with 2021 improving by 40 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

“This underlines how strong the tourism offer is throughout the county.”