Nearly 7.8 million people visited Sefton last year as the borough’s tourism sector once again saw strong growth.
The local visitor economy grew to an impressive £716.9 million in 2025 as millions of people enjoyed the borough’s coastline, attractions and packed programme of events.
It comes ahead of two huge events taking place this month including Southport Flower Show (20th-23rd August 2026) and Southport Air Show (29th-30th August 2026), and follows the success of the Salt & Tar Festival in Bootle.
New independent tourism research shows the value of Sefton’s visitor economy increased by 5% last year, while the total number of visitors increased by 3.1% to 7.79 million.
More than seven million day visits were made to Sefton during 2025, an increase of 3.3%, while the number of staying visitors rose by 1.1% to approximately 760,000.
Tourism also supported an estimated 6,160 jobs across the borough, demonstrating the sector’s continuing importance to Sefton’s economy, businesses and communities.
The growth follows another memorable year for Sefton’s visitor offer, with residents and visitors enjoying numerous major annual events in Southport including the Southport Food and Drink Festival, the British Musical Fireworks Championship, Southport Comedy Festival, Lightport and the Big Top Festival.
In Bootle, Salt & Tar continued to strengthen its position as one of the Liverpool City Region’s most exciting cultural venues, hosting a varied programme of live music, festivals and community events.
The excellent summer weather also helped showcase Sefton’s 22 miles of coastline including its beaches and natural landscapes.
Visitors were also drawn to Antony Gormley’s Another Place, The Atkinson, Southport Market and the borough’s nature reserves and golf courses.
Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, said:
“These are fantastic figures for Sefton and a real vote of confidence in everything our borough has to offer.
“A visitor economy worth more than £700 million makes an enormous contribution to Sefton.
“It supports thousands of jobs, brings vital spending into local businesses and helps create opportunities in communities right across the borough.
“I want to thank all the businesses, event organisers, hospitality workers, volunteers and Council officers whose hard work helps visitors enjoy such a positive experience here on our coast.
“This success belongs to everyone who contributes to Sefton’s tourism and hospitality sector.
“We are ambitious for the future and will continue working with our partners and businesses to attract more visitors, encourage people to stay for longer and ensure the benefits of tourism are felt throughout Sefton.”
Sefton’s results contributed to a record year for the wider Liverpool City Region visitor economy, which grew by 9.3% to £6.834 billion. The city region welcomed more than 61.5 million visitors and supported an estimated 57,591 tourism jobs.
The Sefton figures were produced through the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor, known as STEAM. The independent industry model assesses the economic impact of tourism using information including accommodation occupancy, visitor surveys, transport data and tourism business intelligence.
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