Colin Potts is Senior Lecturer and leader of the International Tourism Management programmes at the University of Chester. As his term of Chair of Destination Chester concludes he reflects on the state of the city’s visitor economy

Headlines

We have some impressive topline data. Despite the UK’s economic challenges, the city’s hotel room occupancy hit a ten-year high of 80% in 2025 and performance so far in 2026 is 2.5% up on that. Our top attraction, Chester Zoo, already the most visited paid attraction outside London, had a record 2.1 million visits in 2025 and is on target to do even better in 2026. The numbers are supported by awards. Amidst a host of accolades, Booking.com ranking Chester as the most welcoming place in the UK in 2025 stands out.

Investment

Why the improvement? Largely I think due to appreciation that sustained investment is needed for competitive advantage. The Zoo’s opening of its Heart of Africa habitat and its new concept in premium attraction overnight accommodation, The Reserve, hit the headlines alongside Harrods Beauty opening in the former Browns of Chester, the Martin Group’s purchase and revitalisation of the Grosvenor shopping centre (now rebranded Eastgate Square), and the imagination, and risk, shown by Cheshire West and Chester Council in its development of the New Chester Market and surrounding area – all part of the One City Plan for which Destination Chester provides the Visiting input.

However, big glossy schemes like these don’t have long-term impact without underpinning commitment from smaller independent and chain businesses. It is no surprise that Chester’s recent renaissance has been accompanied by new retailers and the burgeoning food and drink scene which 2026 surveys show residents and investors now regard as one of the city’s greatest strengths, and which has led to new guided tour companies that show off the city’s culinary offer, not just its heritage. And who would think we would now have food, drink and open-air cinema on top of a car park? Real innovation from Ian Gordon and his iKO Projects team.

Established organisations are also playing their part, particularly in extending the cultural offer. Special mention to Storyhouse for its consistently exciting programming, and to Chester Cathedral for re-thinking how a monumental city centre faith space can be used to extend the city’s events and exhibitions offer. Great praise, too, for the independent Deva Fest – setting up, sustaining and selling out a three-day music festival in the current economic climate is remarkable.

Partnership

All this shows the value of visitor economy businesses working together to share ideas and intelligence, to collaborate and to take the occasional considered risk. Destination

Chester plays its part by bringing people together and showcasing small businesses as well as large. So does the City Centre BID and Marketing Cheshire whose collegiate approach creates carefully targeted marketing campaigns that achieve results way beyond expectation.

Perhaps the best example of collaboration was one that we didn’t get across the line – our ABID. The city’s hoteliers, Marketing Cheshire, City Centre BID and the Council worked together through Destination Chester to develop a compelling business plan that would use a visitor levy to support the One City Plan’s investment projects by enhancing Chester tourism marketing, events and public realm improvement. We won the argument, because a clear majority of general managers (including all the independents) were in favour. But we lost the vote (just) since the national chains mostly voted against as policy, several over-ruling their local managers.

Partnerships for the good of the city continue to thrive though, the most recent extending beyond tourism as the Racecourse, Zoo, Cathedral, University, Storyhouse, Grosvenor Estate, BID and the Council have come together to create a cross-sector, cross-audience Chester place brand that will launch early next year. I have seen the work in progress; it is very exciting.

Coming Up

The place brand is not the only project in the Chester pipeline. Clearance work has just completed on the canal side for a new build 144-bedroom Ibis Styles hotel due to open in 2028. Work should also start this year on a project that will transform the city’s conference and meetings offer – a £20m. hospitality building at the racecourse capable of accommodating 1,000 guests. And the city’s landmark five-star independent hotel, the Chester Grosvenor, closes this month for a two-year complete overhaul.

The city also has three big attraction projects at various stages of feasibility planning. A contract is about to be issued to develop options for a major new cultural / heritage facility on Town Hall Square as part of the Northgate 2 development, outline proposals prepared by Chester Historic Buildings Preservation Trust to solve the decades old conundrum of what to do with Dee House at the Amphitheatre are under consideration, and there are signs that plans to make more of the city’s other unrealised asset, Chester Castle, are more advanced than they have been for many years. Everyone who knows Chester will appreciate my caution over these last two projects, but I think optimism is warranted.

Looking Forward

There is more to do as Chester works towards its ambition of providing the best visitor experience of any historic UK city. The steps will be outlined in a Tourism Growth Plan that will fit within the One City Plan and recognise that accommodation occupancy and visitor number growth is not enough without the increased customer spending necessary to sustain existing business and enable investment. Economic circumstances and national political decisions are of course beyond the city’s control, but we can make improvements in areas of the One City Plan beyond tourism that impact on the city’s offer; culture, environment, communication.

Visitor levies will stay on the agenda, nationally and locally. I have written a separate article about them for the University of Chester and the news this week that Birmingham’s hoteliers have joined those in Liverpool and Manchester in agreeing an ABID sharpens the discussion. Places without the funding visitor levies provide will soon be at a significant disadvantage in marketing, event bidding and place enhancement. We will certainly be discussing them with the Cheshire & Warrington mayoral candidates.

Taking stock, I am sure we can be confident beyond the headlines. Chester is a great and improving city. Its visitor economy is performing well, and the foundations have been laid for it to do better still.