Hampshire County Council

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tourism Recreation and Heritage
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Facts and Figures
NB: all references to statistical data for Hampshire include the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth

Volume and Spending of Tourists in 2001


UK Residents Trips (millions) Nights (millions) Spending (£millions)
Hampshire 4.1 10.9 508
Southern Region 13.3 38.4 1,929
England 131.9 409.2 20,278

*Overseas Residents Visits (millions) Nights (millions) Spending (£millions)
Hampshire 0.47 4.4 211
Southern Region 1.89 16.3 798
England 19.37 167.5 9,525

* Provisional data. Final International Passenger Survey 2001 results should be available in September

Sources: UK Residents: United Kingdom Tourism Survey; Overseas Residents: International Passenger Survey

Leisure Day Visits 1998 Visits (millions) Spending (£millions)
**Hampshire 31 690
Southern Region 94 2,140
United Kingdom 1,261 31,300

** Results for Hampshire extrapolated from the 1998 UK Day Visits Survey using the Cambridge Model

Source: United Kingdom Day Visits Survey 1998

Employment in Tourism
Estimating accurate numbers of individuals employed within the tourism sector is difficult as jobs supported by visitor spending are spread throughout many sectors of the economy.

The tourism and hospitality industries combined employ nearly 62,000 people within Hampshire, comprising 8.3% of the employed workforce. As a percentage, this is higher than for both the South East (7.5%) and Great Britain (7.7%). Nearly 57% of these jobs are part-time and young people and women are more prevalent than in other industries. However, these figures do not include self-employment, which accounts for a high proportion of jobs in tourism, particularly in the guest house and bed and breakfast sector. Although numbers in self-employment within tourism and hospitality are not available at county level, national figures show that this sector adds an additional 8% to those employed in tourism related industries.

Employment in the Tourism Hospitality Sector in Hampshire

Industry Sector

Number of Employees
Hotels 7,835
Caravanning and camping parks etc 1,184
Restaurants, cafes and snack bars 14,962
Public Houses. Bars, nightclubs and licensed clubs 18,460
Travel agencies/tour operators 3,464
Libraries, museums and other cultural activities 2,250
Sports activities 9,736
Other recreational activities 4,036
Total 61,927

Source: Annual Business Inquiry, 2000

Accommodation in Hampshire
There are some 1,700 accommodation establishments in Hampshire, representing over 60,000 bedspaces. Forty-one percent of these are provided by hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfast establishments. The county has a total of 155 hotels of 2 star standard (or equivalent) and above, with 7,386 rooms. Sixteen of these hotels are 4 or 5 start standard, with an average of over 100 rooms each and cater predominantly for business and conference markets. In terms of standard, Hampshire has a predominance of 3 star hotels – 73 in all, with over 3,500 rooms, nearly half of the county’s stock. 4 star hotels (14, 1,456 rooms) tend to be located in cities and major towns, with budget hotels (27, 1,377 rooms) also in major cities and towns and at strategic roadside locations. 2 star supply is concentrated in the New Forest and at Southsea. However, the majority are small, proprietor-managed operations. Hampshire contains just over 4% of the serviced accommodation stock of England.

Just over half of the county’s bedstock is provided by caravan and camping parks and cottages/flats. The major holiday centres/parks are located on Hayling Island and in the New Forest. Another major provider is the Forestry Commission, which operates 10 touring caravan and camping sites in the New Forest.

Tourist Accommodation Bedspaces in Hampshire
Hotels/Motels/Inns 17,215
Guest Houses, B&Bs, Farmhouses 8,107
Camping/Caravan sites 22,449
Self-catering 5,058
Other 8,344
Total 61,173

Source: Southern Tourist Board Accommodation Database, 2002

Hotel Occupancy

Average Monthly Occupancy in 2001
  Bed Occupancy % Room Occupancy % Length of Stay (days)
Hampshire 46% 63% 1.8
Southern Region 47% 63% 3
England 43% 59% 4.9

Source: UK Occupancy Survey 2001; Hampshire Tourism Trends Survey 2001

Attractions and Events
Hampshire possesses a wide variety of permanent visitor attractions, leisure facilities and heritage sites. The county also hosts hundreds of regular special events, shows and festivals, featuring sports, the countryside, literature, the arts, and the county’s defence and naval heritage. Major events include the Southampton International Boat Show, Farnborough International Aerospace Exhibition, International Festival of the Sea and the Middle Wallop International Airshow. Southampton has established itself as the UK’s home of ocean saling and plays host to a number of major international yachting events including the Volvo Ocean Race and the Global Challenge.

Visitor Numbers at Hampshire’s Top Attractions in 2000 and 2001

Historic Properties 2001 2000  
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard 428,440 410,811 P
Winchester Cathedral 280,000*

308,000*

P
The Vyne, Sherborne St John 56,437 63,311 (1999) P
Highclere Castle and Gardens 52,523 90,657 P
Portchester Castle 52,161 50,021 P
Uppark House, Petersfield 50,013 52,629 P
Gardens
Exbury Gardens 114,227 95,496 P
Mottisfont Abbey 81,997 73,636 P
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum 78,512 74,746 P
Museums and Art Galleries
National Motor Museum, Beaulieu 344,110 315,947 P
Portsmouth City Museum and Art Gallery 81,018 71,000 (1999) F
Royal Navy Submarine Museum 77,496 66,073 P
Southampton Art Gallery 53,680 65,658 (1999) F
D-Day Museum, Southsea 63,318 64,500 P
Zoos
Marwell Zoo 393,479 371,300 P
Birdworld 152,192 160,000* (1999) P
Others
Paulton’s Park 540,000* 400,000* P
Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley 318,955* 283,290* F
Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Horndean 212,780 230,000* F
Itchen Valley Country Park, Eastleigh 188,691* 206,915* F
Mid-Hants Railway ‘Watercress Line’ 112,865 143,000 (1999) P
Buckler’s Hard Historic Village, Beaulieu 72,000* 70,000* P

Notes: * estimate, F= Free admission, P = paid admission

Sightseeing in the UK 2000 and 2001; individual attractions

Conference Venues
Apart from the wide range of conference facilities in hotels, Hampshire offers an excellent choice of major residential and non-residential conference venues. In Winchester, the Guildhall and King Alfred’s College are available and Sparsholt just outside the city. Ferneham Hall in Fareham, Princes Hall and Theatre, Aldershot and the University of Southampton are also popular venues. In Basingstoke there is the Anvil Theatre and the Haymarket Theatre, whilst in Portsmouth conferences are held in the Guildhall, the Pyramids Centre, Portsmouth University and South Parade Pier.

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