Shropshire tourist attractions see big increase in visitors

Bosses at Park Hall Countryside Experience says its visitor figures are up by 19 per cent for the summer holiday period compared to last year, while Oswestry's Cae Glas Park has also seen record numbers attend its Sunday music in the park afternoons.

And this weekend is shaping up to be a huge Bank Holiday success with more than 1,000 people arriving at the Park Hall showground for the national Honda Goldwing annual meet – an event open to the public on Sunday.

The Park Hall Countryside Experience began its 2016 season with a record Good Friday attendance and director Richard Powell said it had been a very good summer.

The attraction hosts a number of activities, including the quirky pig racing events.

The latest was held on Thursday, with crowds lining up to cheer on their chosen sow.

He said: "Our Good Friday figures were 20 per cent up on previous years and the good attendances have continued."

He said that the weather and new attractions had helped but said more and more people were discovering Oswestry as a visitor destination.

A series of attractions at Oswestry Showground have also boosted visitor numbers to the area. After a record 16,000 attended Oswestry Show, chairman Malcolm Roberts said that all year round events such as the Honda Goldwing meet boosted spending in the Oswestry area.

He said: "We have a wide range of events at the showground throughout the year. There is the truck show and the VW festival and of course the vintage and veteran weekend. We also have a very popular pony club event that is taking place in the coming few weeks and there are the regular events such as antique weekends.

"I would think that over the year these events help bring hundreds of thousands of pounds into the local economy."

Mr Roberts said that for many people visiting the showground for the day or a weekend was their first introduction to Shropshire.

He said: "We know that many of them with return to the area for a short break which again helps the tourist trade."

Meanwhile, visitors are continuing to flock to Mid Wales, new figures show.

A total of £720 million was spent in the tourism sector in Powys last year – an increase of nine per cent, new data has shown this week.

The findings, revealed in an official review of tourism activity across Powys, showed the total number of visitor days in the county was 10.22 million – an increase of 7.3 per cent on 2014.

The number of people visiting Powys during 2015 hit 4.55 million, an increase of 5.8 per cent compared to 2014.

Latest figures for Shropshire and neighbouring Staffordshire show tourists spent more than £1.7 billion in 2013 .