Tourism and Leisure
Known as Britain’s Ocean City, Plymouth is internationally renowned as a leading UK tourist destination. Visitors from around the world are welcomed to a city that provides a diverse cultural experience and a perfect base for enjoying the city’s surroundings, land and marine.
The city is ambitious and focussed on growing its visitor economy. Destination Plymouth, a partnership between Plymouth City Council and businesses in the city centre and waterfront areas, co-ordinates the delivery of the Visitor Plan for Plymouth 2020 – 2030 and brings together the activities of the Plymouth City Centre Company and the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, both of which are Business Improvement Districts.
4,303
Full Time Employees (FTE)
£193m
Gross Value Added (GVA)
£44,800
GVA per FTE
By 2030, Plymouth aims to achieve:
15%
Increase in visitor numbers
30%
Increase in visitor spend
1,000
Extra jobs in tourism created
Plymouth is a city with a vision: to become one of Europe’s finest, most vibrant waterfront cities. The city boasts over 40% of green space, making it one of the greenest in the UK. It also has the second highest number of ‘5 Gold Anchor’ marinas awarded anywhere in the UK, reflecting its excellence in boating facilities and services. The Theatre Royal Plymouth is the largest and best attended regional producing theatre in the UK and the leading promoter of theatre in the South West. The Box, which opened in 2021, is Plymouth’s major new museum, gallery and archive showcases the city's rich history and diverse art.
The Visit Plymouth website is the official tourist board’s platform providing comprehensive information about attractions, accommodation, events, and dining in Plymouth.
Plymouth is well connected; there are 24 trains to London Paddington per day, with journey times from three hours, three international airports located within a two hour driving distance and daily sailing to Roscoff, France and weekly to Santander, Spain with Brittany Ferries.
High-profile and award-winning events
Find out more about the Tourism & Leisure sector in Plymouth.
Latest Tourism and Leisure News
The status will support a collaboration of local authorities and organisations to promote and manage the growth of Devon’s local visitor economy.
Plymouth’s vision to bring the buzz back to the Guildhall has moved a step closer to the start of an exciting project inside this landmark building.
The new exciting design for Armada Way has been confirmed following one of the largest listening exercises ever carried out by the Council and a cross-party scrutiny review.