New figures show that tourism is making a strong post-pandemic comeback in Mansfield.

Mansfield District Council has become a partner in a new countywide initiative to better understand the visitor economy.

Initial data released by Marketing Nottinghamshire on behalf of Nottinghamshire County, Nottingham City, Mansfield District, and Newark and Sherwood District councils shows that in 2022 the visitor economy was worth £137.37m to Mansfield.

This is up from £124.5.m in 2021 and shows the district is making good progress towards the 2018 high spot of £161.67m, with 2.71m people visiting the district in 2022 compared with 2.41m in 2021 and 3.18m in 2018.

Mansfield mayor Andy Abrahams said this year had been the best yet for events in the district, including a first Caribbean-themed Mansfield Carnival, the inaugural Mansfield Film Festival, OneFest, Armed Forces Day, Party in the Market, a Summer Festival and The Full Shebang.

He added that the council’s £3m investment to transform Berry Hill Park into a Destination Park would continue to put Mansfield on the map.

Mansfield BID chief executive Jay Rowlinson, writing in his monthly NewsJournal column, highlighted the seriousness of Mansfield BID, the district council, and other partners to make the town the ‘Events Capital of Nottinghamshire’.

He said: “Actions always speak louder than words and I think it’s safe to say we have achieved our aim.

“These events firmly put and keep Mansfield on the map and entice people to shop, dwell, and experience all that Mansfield town centre has to offer — not only residents of

Mansfield, but also people who are coming from much further afield to be a part of the excellent free events and fun culture that has been evident throughout the whole summer.”

Coun Stuart Richardson, portfolio holder for Regeneration and Growth, added: “Mansfield is following the recovery trend and signs for the visitor economy are overall very positive with more people working in the sector than the last three years and the industry contributing more to our economy year on year.

“The council is committed to encouraging more people to see Mansfield as a place to visit, and details of this will be developed and revealed in the coming year as part of the Destination Mansfield strategy.”

The new figures showed the visitor economy is an expanding sector for employment in Mansfield, supporting the equivalent of 1,379 full-time jobs in 2022, an increase from 1,254 in 2021 and 845 in 2020.

Day visits between 2018 and 2022 made up 80% of the total value of the district’s visitor economy, with a 12.6% growth in day visitors in 2022 compared with 2021. During visits, 26% of expenditure was on shopping (non-food), 18% on food and drink, and 7.3% on recreation. Most people came to Mansfield in May, with 290,000 visits, closely followed by June 273,000, and April 260,000.

Among visitors, there was a 4.2% increase in 2022 among those who stayed in the district compared with 2021.

The number of people staying with friends and relatives increased and remained the biggest contributor to overnight stays in Mansfield, with visitor numbers remaining stable post-pandemic. This segment of visitors generated 410,000 visitor days in 2022, an increase from 380,00 in 2021, and 214,000 in 2020.

The new data uses the Scarborough Tourism Economic Assessment Model, an industry-recognised evaluation of the volume and value of the visitor economy.