Tourism generated £2 BILLION for Sheffield in 2025 as council set to approve more funding into industry
There were an estimated 18.7 million tourism visits last year
Sheffield could benefit from close to £800,000 in funding to improve the city’s tourism.
Councillors are set to decide on whether to accept the grant from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) on Wednesday, September 2.
The funding would come to Sheffield City Council - which acts as the leading body for the South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership - and see £798,000 invested over the course of the next three years to improve awareness of the region’s tourism offering.
“The visitor economy is a significant economic sector for Sheffield and South Yorkshire, supporting local businesses, jobs, events, culture, hospitality, transport and city centre activity,” a council proposal adds.
If approved, the funding would support the work of Marketing Sheffield, a council group that promotes the city’s offering.
A pre-prepared report advises councillors on the Economic Development, Skills and Culture Policy Committee accept the funding, adding that 50 per cent of all tourism value in the region comes from Sheffield.
It goes on to say: “The 2025 STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Model) data estimates that Sheffield generated £2.01bn of direct and indirect economic impact through visitor and tourism business expenditure, supported 16,203 full-time equivalent jobs locally, and welcomed an estimated 18.7m tourism visits.
“Across South Yorkshire, the visitor economy generated an estimated £4.02bn of economic impact, 38.3m tourism visits and more than 32,800 full-time equivalent jobs.
“This underlines the importance of sustained partnership activity to grow visitor spend, extend stays, support hospitality and cultural businesses and increase the value of major events, business tourism and destination marketing.”
Earlier this week, Reform UK councillor Matt Smith argued that Sheffield needed to bring back a dedicated tourism desk in the Town Hall to improve awareness of the city’s heritage.
“We need to restore pride in our city, and show it off to everyone who visits the very best we can,” he added. “
“Sheffield made its mark on the world for centuries, and it deserves to be celebrated. I think a tourist desk is the least we could do to move in this direction.”