TOURISM is booming in ‘beautiful’ Cheshire East according to the latest figures. The figures reveal that more than 13 million people visited last year.

The annual Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor shows that tourism in Cheshire east is now worth £737 million after growing by seven per cent in 2013.

The figures also show that a total of 13.9 million people visited Cheshire East last year, which is an increase of 5.3 per cent since 2012.

Clr Michael Jones, Cheshire East Council Leader, said: “Cheshire East is such a beautiful and rewarding place to visit and stay, with so much to offer people, that I must say I am not really surprised at these excellent figures.

“The fact that more and more people are being drawn to the borough is testament not only to its obvious natural attractions such as Tatton Park, but also to the very many first-class and warmly welcoming hotels, guest houses and small businesses that support them.”

As a result of the growing number of tourists, the amount of people employed in tourism in the borough has also risen by 6.2 per cent creating in total more than ten thousand jobs.

Clr Jones added: “Cheshire East is an attractive place to do business and these developments will undoubtedly help to boost the business tourism sector.