'Shocking' slump in visitor numbers to county

THE number of tourists coming to Wiltshire dropped by more than a fifth last year, new figures show.

- PETER DAVISON

It came in the year that Wiltshire Council voted to defund destination management organisation Visit Wiltshire for a second time.

During a debate on tourism at Wiltshire Council's cabinet meeting council leader Ian Thorn said: “There has been a 22 per cent drop in visit numbers into Wiltshire over past year - I find it quite shocking.”

Tourism in Wiltshire is worth an estimated £1.5 billion annually - accounting for nine per cent of the county's GDP - and the industry supports 28,000 jobs locally.

In 2023, and again in 2024, the Conservative administration voted to axe the council's financial support of Visit Wiltshire.