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Tourism Research

Research is important because it helps us to make decisions about how to develop our work and what activities to undertake. It can also help businesses in the city to make decisions.

We have an ongoing programme of research in the following areas:

Visitor surveys

We ask visitors who are here about their experience of the city, what motivated them to visit, what they have visited, how much they have spent and how they rate the destination. Visitors are surveyed via the VIC, online and through on street surveys.

Hotel Futures Study

Commissioned in October 2006, the study's principal aims were:

  • to provide a robust, up to date picture of current and future hotel capacity in Brighton and Hove and identify gaps in provision by category of hotel
  • to evaluate potential hotel sites in Brighton and Hove against hotel developer requirements
  • to evaluate the current 'core hotel zone' and associated policies in the Local Plan, including proposed policies for permitting conversion out of hospitality operations.
  • Download the Hotel Futures Study PDF. (78K)

Economic impact of tourism

This is a study carried out annually calculating the value and volume of tourism to the city. Many businesses in the city contribute to this study by providing information about occupancy and footfall.

Enquirer research

In 2007 we carried out a research project to find out more about the profiles of Brighton's current and potential visitors. By utilising postcode information we can classify every client according to his or her home address. The entire UK population can be classified into 11 broad groups and further refined into 61 descriptive types.

This type of research allows us to gain a better understanding of who our clients and potential visitors are, so we can develop products and services to meet their needs.

Further resources

Other useful sites to check out for sources of tourism information and research are: