TOURISM generated almost £200m for Hull's economy and helped create more than 4,000 jobs last year, states a newly published independent report.
The research was commissioned by tourism agency Visit Hull & East Yorkshire and prepared by the Tourism South East Research Unit.
A total of £195.6m was spent on trips to Hull last year – an increase of 7 per cent on the previous year.
It is estimated to have created about 4,098 full-time jobs – up by 6 per cent on 2012.
Jobs have created across a wide range of service sectors including retail, catering, travel and hospitality.
Councillor Steven Bayes, Hull City Council's portfolio holder for visitor destination and UK City of Culture 2017, said: "This is fantastic news for our city and really demonstrates the positive impact of tourism on the local economy.
"What is important is that these figures are for the period before Hull won the UK City of Culture 2017 title, so this means that this is as a result of a natural progression of incre- ased tourism and jobs growth."
The research was carried out in order to measure the volume, value and economic impact of tourism on the city of Hull.
Money people spent during trips to the city also increased by 11 per cent, from £125.4m in 2012 to £139.2m last year.
Overall, the total value of tourism activity in Hull last year is estimated to have been about £259.9m – up 6 per cent on 2012.
Cllr Bayes said: "There is huge potential to really change the tourism landscape and come 2017 we hope to be a world-class visitor destination with a large focus on increasing visitor spend within the local economy."
