County tourism worth Â£1.47bn

New attractions like the recently opened North Sea Observatory at Chapel St leonards are helping to extend the tourism industry in Lincolnshire, ANL-180309-160638001

New figures have shown that the value of Lincolnshire's tourism industry has increased by a further 7.3 percent, reaching Â£1.47bn in 2017.

The latest figures show that in 2017 the county attracted more than 20m visitors – a three percent rise on the previous year.

The rise has helped increase the value of the county’s visitor economy by about 30 percent over the last five years.

Coun Colin Davie, executive member for economy and place at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Tourism is a key industry for the county economy, employing around 19,500 people.

“We’re working hard to attract even more visitors, and over the last couple of years we’ve dramatically improved what we have to offer. As a result, not only has the number of day-visitors increased by around 450,000, the number of people staying for longer has increased by around 160,000 too, a five per cent rise.

“October and March have seen the largest increases in visitor numbers. That suggests our efforts to extend the traditional tourist season, with new attractions like the recently opened North Sea Observatory, are paying off.”