Capital of culture visitor spend in 08 was £753.8 million

A new report into Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture showed that 35 per cent of all visits to the city during 2008 were influenced by the Capital of Culture tag.

The five-year research programme called Impacts 08 – the Liverpool Model, commissioned by Liverpool City Council and undertaken by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, found the festival year saw 9.7 million visitors to the city and generated £753.8m for the economy.

It said “the majority” of this spend occurred within the city region, and the remainder within the North West. Media coverage of Liverpool’s cultural attractions doubled, with 90 per cent of stories between 2007 and 2008 positive or neutral.