2025 has been about building the foundations for the future, to enable us to deliver the ambitious and shared vision as set out in our Destination Management Plan (DMP). While I have been focusing on establishing a solid base to grow from, despite challenges, overall, it has been a positive year with the team delivering some fantastic work for the city region.
Our visitor economy remained strong in 2024, with visitor spend increasing by 0.1% to £6.25 billion (surpassing the 2019 pre-pandemic high) – despite people spending less nationally – highlighting the enduring appeal of the region’s attractions and accommodation offering.
Whilst overall visitor numbers fell to 57.07 million, a 5.3% decrease from 2023, with both staying and day visitors slightly down, this trend reflects national patterns with rising living costs, unsettled weather, and personal finances, consistently cited by VisitBritain, as barriers to travel throughout 2024.
To combat this, we are developing a range of initiatives and are working with partners to ensure 2026 is a year of growth.
Examples include working with Halton Council on ‘Culture 26: Made in Halton’, which is being launched at Runcorn Town Hall on Monday 8th December. Made in Halton will showcase accessible, affordable, and inspiring culture across the borough. From Halton Fest and Bands in the Park to dazzling fireworks over the Silver Jubilee Bridge, the programme will transform public spaces, soft launch the refreshed design of the already award-winning Brindley theatre and celebrate Halton’s heritage with a Lewis Carroll Festival.
We are also working in partnership with Sefton Council and Culture Liverpool to deliver an events programme for Southport. ‘Elegantly Eccentric’ is a year-long celebration of culture, spectacle and seaside spirit, transforming historic Southport into a vibrant stage for art, performance, music and community celebration. Produced by Sefton Council in partnership with Culture Liverpool, this ambitious schedule will feature major events across all four seasons in 2026, supported by local businesses and cultural partners to showcase the town at its most creative and captivating. Aimed at attracting a new generation of visitors, Southport 2026: Elegantly Eccentric looks to reaffirm its place as one of the UK’s top entertainment destinations, building on its credentials as one of the jewels in the crown that attracts visitors for its unique entertainment, beautiful architecture and grandeur.
In addition to the cultural programme, VisitEngland is developing a pilot domestic marketing campaign to promote and support Southport, Wirral and the wider coastal resorts in the North-West. Running from January to March 2026, the campaign will highlight the experiences on offer in the region, with the aim of driving more visits and overnight stays in the shoulder season from March to June 2026. Working alongside a commercial partner, to be announced, and our neighbouring LVEPs – Marketing Lancashire and Cumbria Tourism – Southport and the North-West region were chosen for several reasons, the tragic incident in Southport during July 2024 had a profound effect on the area’s visitor economy and this campaign will help support their recovery—by helping rebuild confidence, restoring the area’s reputation, and encouraging responsible tourism.
I was recently delighted to congratulate the Municipal Hotel & Spa as the city’s first ever rated AA five-star hotel. Just three years after opening, the hotel achieved a milestone that reflects the strength of its hospitality culture, the professionalism of its team, and consistently high service standards. Adding to the celebration, the hotel’s Seaforth restaurant, a brasserie-style dining experience, has also been awarded an AA Rosette.
Further good news to celebrate is Liverpool being named in the Best Cities in the UK and the Friendliest Cities in the UK categories in the Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Awards 2025. Renowned for our famous friendly welcome, this recognition demonstrates how Liverpool continues to charm visitors from across the globe.
On the business tourism front, Liverpool has improved significantly in the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) rankings, placing it 112th globally, a rise of 61 places from its previous 173rd position. This also makes it the fourth most successful UK city for hosting international conferences, its highest ever UK ranking, behind only London, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The city has also demonstrated its rising international reputation as a sustainable destination by climbing an impressive 10 places in the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement) Index, ranking third in England and reaffirming our growing assurance to responsible tourism and environmental leadership.
This achievement builds on Liverpool’s momentum after being crowned ‘Most Improved Destination’ in the 2023 GDS-Movement Awards, demonstrating consistent progress and long-term commitment with an ambitious approach to sustainability, climate action and inclusive economic growth. The results come just as Liverpool hosted EXPEDITION TWO last Friday, the next phase of the city’s pioneering programme of experiments to decarbonise the live music, film and TV sectors.
This is off the back of a very successful ‘Get Together This Summer’ destination marketing campaign, partnering with Avanti West Coast, targeting namely London, the West Midlands, Milton Keynes and the Southeast Midlands. The campaign firmly positioned Liverpool as the gateway to the wider city region offer, showcasing the six unique and eclectic family experiences in one destination. The campaign was also adopted by the LCR Attractions Group, managed by the LCR DP team. We are already into campaign delivery for Christmas this year, and deep into planning our destination marketing campaign activity for 2026.
And the good news does not stop there. I am delighted to share that the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has awarded Liverpool Coach Friendly Status, recognising the city’s excellent provision for coach parking, drop-off points and driver information. Liverpool remains the only northern city with this accreditation, reflecting our commitment to welcoming coach groups, driving day visitors and supporting the visitor economy. It’s clear we continue to be a top choice for group travel with the city also shortlisted for Best UK Destination in the Group Leisure & Travel Awards 2025.
It was heartening to see so many organisations from across the city region come together at the ‘Accessibility for All Workshop’ on the 30th October for a day of powerful and productive conversations. Attendees on the day told us the content was perfectly balanced between networking with other businesses, understanding lived experience perspectives and hearing from best practice organisations. Indeed, attendees were inspired to undertake a wide range of actions following the workshop including reviewing their online accessibility information and to hear and share learnings with other businesses. If you want to find out more about our accessibility ambitions, become involved in our efforts or simply want some helpful guidance to get started, visit the LCR Accessibility Support Toolkit here.
Finally, the recent and welcome announcement by The Chancellor, regarding the Overnight Accommodation Levy (OAL), presents us with a fantastic opportunity to reshape our approach to the way in which we invest in our Visitor Economy. This means for Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership, we can build on the hard work of the Accommodation BID and its successes to create a long-term plan to grow the visitor sector. We will look to deliver new and exciting additions to strengthen the region’s global competitiveness.
As the city region’s Destination Management Organisation, responsible for setting the strategic path to ignite and accelerate growth, we will continue to work positively with both public and private sector partners. This is fundamental to the creation of a future model, ensuring it supports our sector’s ambitions as set out in our Destination Management Plan. Collaboration is key to the development of a successful LCR-wide Overnight Accommodation Levy to ensure it positively impacts our region.
Consultation is now open seeking views on the design of a new Mayoral power to create visitor levies on overnight stays in England. Use the link below to have your say.
Visitor levy in England – GOV.UK
Wishing you all a busy and successful festive period, and I look forward to working with you over the coming months. Thank you for your continued support.
Warmest regards,
Natalie Wyatt
Managing Director
Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership.