Visitor Economy and the Economic Outlook

Focussing on expanding the visitor economy of Chesterfield, May’s Destination Chesterfield event highlighted the importance of promoting tourism within the Derbyshire region. With high inflation rates still preventing economic growth, the event also revealed the predicted economic outlook for the country over the next 3 years.

Held at the popular Doubletree by Hilton Sheffield Park, the morning began with an introductory speech delivered by Destination Chesterfield Manager, Dominic Stevens. Expanding on the demand to increase Chesterfield’s visitor economy, Stevens revealed that the ‘Summer in Chesterfield’ campaign will see a mixture of fun, family-friendly and adult-centric events hosted within the town. Hoping to drive visitors to Chesterfield, the campaign includes events such as the upcoming Peddler Market on the 23rd of June 2023. Located in Chesterfield’s historic New Square, the event will champion local creators and artisans by featuring delicious street food and unique craft drinks for visitors to enjoy. Offering an exciting weekend of family-friendly activities to include a silent disco tour, circus and face-painting, Junction Arts is also launching their exciting new venture, ‘Chesterfield Children’s Festival’. Taking place on the 29th and 30th of July at Queen’s Park, the two-day long event will include live performances and is completely free for everyone.

Further expanding on the significance of a thriving visitor economy, Doubletree by Hilton Sheffield Park Hotel Manager, Daniel Rich, discussed the powerful economical impact of promoting the natural beauty of the Peak District. Attracting television and film production companies to base their projects in the scenic area, the involved cast and crew generate profits for nearby hotels by staying there for the entire duration of filming. Further boosting the economy, the influence of far-reaching, large production companies, such as Netflix, filming in the area cannot be ignored. This is because after watching their favourite film or series, fans often travel to the main filming location. If more production companies choose to film in locations across the region, then it is hoped that the regional economy will be boosted as a result. Believing Chatsworth House to be one of Derbyshire’s most popular tourist destinations, Rich also revealed that the grand stately home creates profits of over 13 million pounds a year. With the hospitality, business and retail industries working together to create targeted marketing campaigns, Rich believes that more tourists will visit the area and therefore improve the economy.

Cautioning Rich’s optimistic view of growth, the Bank of England’s Deputy Agent for Yorkshire and Humber, Paul Mount, delivered an economic outlook to attendees. Acknowledging that the economy is struggling to recover from unforeseen events including  the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, Mount revealed that high inflation rates are still prolonging the cost of living crisis. After raising the interest rate to 4.5%, 1.3 million homeowners will see their mortgage bills soar as they come off their comparatively low, fixed-rate mortgage deals this year. Despite the rate of inflation falling from 10.1% to 8.7%, Mount revealed that it won’t be until the end of 2024 that inflation will reach the mandate-rate of 2%. Although this is positive news for savers who will reap the benefits of higher interest rates, borrowers with variable-interest rate debt will be negatively impacted. Providing some hope for the country, Mount stated that over the next 6 months, energy prices are expected to fall. Food prices are also predicted to decrease, although at a much slower rate. Concluding his speech by expressing that investment growth is currently only driven by consumers, Mount highlighted the importance of creating a thriving visitor economy to drive investment into the region.