£55 million ‘Richard III dividend’ for Leicester

LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL has reported that the ‘Richard III effect’ has generated a £55 million boost to the city’s economy over the past year.

The council says the £55 million estimate represents the amount of cash spent in the city which has been directly influenced by interest in Richard III, who was reinterred at Leicester Cathedral a year ago.

Sarah Harrison, at Leicester city council, said: ‘The total figure is calculated using visitor figures from the Richard III visitor centre and the cathedral. We estimate that 10 percent of those people would have come from overseas, and so would need accommodation, and 38 percent came from other parts of the UK, so some of those would need hotel rooms, too.’

Hotels are said to be benefiting from the increase in tourist numbers since the discovery of Richard III’s body, with 80 percent of rooms being occupied regularly. The rise in overnight stays and visitors is estimated to have been worth an additional £5 million in revenue for businesses such as hotels, cafes, pubs, and B&Bs over the past year.


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Picture Credit: Service of Compline for the Reception of the Remains of King Richard III</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin