The true value of tourism to the economy of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Tourism (direct) gross value added  

One measure of tourism output is captured by Tourism (direct) gross value added  (TDGVA).  Data was available for regions.

 

What do the figures tell us?

The data gave a total tourist sector in the UK of £58,997.3 million.  There were six areas, which accounted for nearly half of total TDGVA, these are set out below.  Inner and Outer London make up a quarter of the total.

 

	TDGVA	Tourism share
Region	£ million	%
Inner London	7954.8	13.5
Outer London	7436.6	12.6
Scotland	5235.9	8.9
Surrey, East & West Sussex	3722.3	6.3
Greater Manchester	2587.2	4.4
East Anglia	2182.8	3.7

 

However, at the regional level what is crucial is the contribution made to the total economy, which in this data set is indicated by the Tourism ratio.  Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly had the largest Tourism ratio of 9.9%, followed by Cumbria and North Yorkshire both with 6.6% and then Outer London with 6.3%. 

 

	TDGVA	Tourism Ratio
Region	£ million	%
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly	989.6	9.9
Cumbria	729.1	6.6
North Yorkshire	1218.4	6.6
Outer London	7436.6	6.3
Devon	1336.7	5.7
West Wales & The Valleys	1814.1	5.7
Dorset & Somerset	1364.8	5.0

 

Other data

It is possible to create figures on tourism output using available data. Firstly from ONS GVA data estimating the share of each sector attributable to tourism and then using multipliers to calculate the indirect and induced output, the value of tourism  can be determined.  “If we then apply this to the tourism estimates for Cornwall, it will increase the role of tourism in Cornwall to 12.2% in 2013, rising to 13.5% in 2019.” [Deacon 2021].

 

Conclusion

The value of the tourist sector to the Cornish economy varies according to the data used but the available evidence suggests it ranges from 10% to 14%.  This is well below the figures bandied about by the tourism lobby, which range between 20% and 33%.

 

Notes

Tourism (direct) gross value added (TDGVA)

Tourism gross value added adds the parts of gross value added generated by tourism industries and other industries of the economy that directly serve visitors in responding to internal tourism consumption. The use of the term ‘direct’ in this aggregate refers to the fact that the TSA measures only that part of value added (by tourism industries and other industries) due to consumption by visitors and leaves aside the indirect and induced effects that such consumption might generate. [NISRA, 2019].

 

They therefore calculate the ‘tourism ratio’ of an industry, in other words the proportion of the economic activity in that industry that is directly attributable to tourism.  [House of Lords, 2021].

 

Sources

Deacon, B., (2021),The financial impact of tourism in Cornwall: an assessment.

 

House of Lords library, (15 June 2021), Promoting Tourism in the UK.

 

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, (March 2023), Northern Ireland Tourism Satellite Account 2019.