The tourism economy in Cheltenham was worth £158 million to the local economy in 2016, a two per cent rise on the previous year, according to Cheltenham Borough Council.

UK trips to Cheltenham are up by six per cent and visitor spend is up by 16 per cent on the previous year at £21.5m. There are fewer day visitors coming to the town, down by two per cent, but they are spending more with a seven per cent increase on the previous year.

Steve Jordan, leader of the council, said: "We are delighted to see growth in the tourism economy and really appreciate the efforts of all those businesses involved in helping bring visitors to the town.

"We really value our tourism sector and as such have invested in the new collaboration Marketing Cheltenham with Cheltenham Tourism Partnership. From this, we now have a five-year strategy to further grow our visitor economy and we are excited by the work which is already beginning to take shape."

Marketing Cheltenham is a collaboration with the Cheltenham Tourism Partnership which was launched in late 2017 to grow the visitor economy of Cheltenham by five per cent year- on-year by 2022. The Tourism Partnership includes Cheltenham Borough Council, Cheltenham BID, The Jockey Club, University of Gloucestershire, The Cheltenham Trust, the Chamber of Commerce, Cheltenham Festivals and Cheltenham Hospitality Association.

It aims to promote Cheltenham on a national and international level, increasing the number of visitors to the town and extending their stay.

Kelly Ballard, manager of Marketing Cheltenham, said: "We are currently working with Cheltenham BID to promote the town centre and their event programme. 

"Other work in progress includes a new destination website www.visitcheltenham.com , the development of new stories, tours and packages around the heritage, food and cultural offer, as well as a review of the Tourist Information Service."

There are 3,607 people employed within the industry in Cheltenham, an 11 per cent increase since 2014.