City of Wolverhampton’s visitor economy grew for the second successive year in 2024 – a new report has revealed.
The figures - compiled by independent tourism research body Global Tourism Solutions for the West Midlands Growth Company - illustrate the impact of tourism in the region in 2024 and show the city’s visitor economy was worth £506 million, up 10.6% from the previous year.
Wolverhampton also attracted more than 10.4 million visitors - an increase of over 400,000 visitors from 2023’s total of 10 million; and the numbers of full-time equivalent jobs supported by direct and indirect tourism activities rose by 4.8%, from 4,553 to 4,772.
It comes as a major boost ahead of a new City Centre Evening and Nighttime Economy Strategy set to be approved at next Wednesday’s (October 15) council Cabinet meeting. The strategy will sit under the Destination Management Plan, the framework for visitor economy in Wolverhampton, approved in September 2025.
The latest visitor economy results also highlight Wolverhampton’s strong performance relative to the wider West Midlands, where growth across all three key indicators was more modest.
The growth reflects the strong offer provided by the city’s major visitor venues, such as the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Wolverhampton Arts Centre, Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton Racecourse and University of Wolverhampton at The Halls.
This offer has also recently been added to by the opening in May of a new Mander Centre leisure hub, anchored by Superbowl UK, and the new independent 4-screen Lockworks Cinema, at the iconic Chubb Building, throwing its doors open in July.
The council’s arts and culture provision, including the nationally acclaimed Wolverhampton Art Gallery, annual major events programme - which saw Wolverhampton successfully welcome thousands of visitors to the first Kabaddi World Cup outside of Asia in 2024 - and many smaller events in the city’s parks and nature reserves, have also contributed to the positive figures.
The growth has been built on the council investing in, or securing investment for, over £100million of key visitor economy infrastructure projects, such as a state-of-the-art transport Interchange better connecting visitors to the city, and major public realm works creating events spaces and an improved environment for all.
The Destination Management Plan is overseen by a new Destination Management Partnership Board for the city with representatives from the council, key visitor venues, businesses and representative groups and the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC).
This Board supports and engages with the regional Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) Board, one of the national pilots agreed by Government.
City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, and Chair of the West Midlands Mayor’s new Night-time Economy Commission, Councillor Chris Burden, said: “The visitor economy is an important part of the economic mix for Wolverhampton and its continued growth is critical for the local economy – and providing job opportunities for our residents.
“We have some fantastic assets and venues in Wolverhampton, and we have the confidence of investors who want to develop and expand here as we develop Wolverhampton as a distinctive, accessible and inclusive destination built on the uniqueness of our strong cultural heritage.
“Working with partners we will continue to build on that and deliver a robust Destination Management Plan that fosters further growth by enabling a vibrant, mixed evening/nighttime economy and joint city events programme, vibrant public environment and improved accommodation offer.”
