Tourism boost as visitor numbers rise in Rossendale

The leisure and tourism industry is booming across Rossendale as the number of people visiting the borough has risen.

1.5 million visits were made to Rossendale’s various attractions in 2018, according to new statistics released by Marketing Lancashire. This was up 4.2 per cent from 2017.

The results have been driven by a rise of 4.6 per cent in day visitors, who spent £63.5 million, 8.7 per cent more last year. The number of tourism related jobs rose from 778 to 816.

Rossendale Council is committed to supporting the expansion of the leisure and tourism offer in the borough.

During 2018, the Council helped kick off the development of a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to support to expansion of the Whitaker Museum.

It has also partnered with The Hill at Ski Rossendale on a project to improve facilities at the ski centre via a Sport England grant.

New fingerpost tourism signage has been installed in Bacup and Rawtenstall town centres that complement the wider economic development work that has been taking place.

£12,890 was also issued to support twelve community events across the borough that have attracted visitors.

Cllr Alyson Barnes, Leader of the Council, said:

It’s really good to see tourism growing in the borough and this is due to the hard work of the many brilliant attractions we have as well as the support Rossendale Council has given to support events and facility upgrades.

In 2019 we are developing a new Visit Rossendale website and our twitter and Facebook feeds have seen sharp rises in followers and engagements. The Council is also committed to pursuing a mountain biking trail centre at Futures Park that has the potential to bring in an additional 100,000 visitors per year.

Vikki Harris, Director Marketing Lancs, said:

Lancashire’s food & drink and retail attractions continue to flourish, with both areas exceeding £1billion in direct expenditure by visitors, confirming our belief in Lancashire as the UK’s top gourmet destination. We’re confident that many exciting developments and new investments across the county will continue to drive growth, helping to attract high value visitors from further afield as well as boosting our domestic tourism offer.