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City sees visitor numbers rise as regeneration continues transformation

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Footfall in Gloucester city centre has increased over the past year outstripping other towns and cities in the region.

The number of people visiting the city increased by more than 127,000 in the first five months of 2025, compared with the same period last year.
 
The data, which is collected on behalf of the council, confirms that this is a larger percentage increase of any town or city in the Southwest of England. 
 
The City Council’s regeneration plans continue to gather pace, with the multimillion-pound Forum development welcoming its first tenants, internet service provider, Fasthosts, in January. 
 
When complete, the project will boast a boutique hotel complete with restaurant, conference facilities and rooftop cocktail bar, together with 135,000 sq ft of office space and a multi-storey car park.
 
Elsewhere in the city, Gloucester Food Dock,  supported by the City Council, saw the opening of several new eateries over the past year and now boasts 12 independent food businesses.
 
And the University of Gloucestershire’s city centre campus will open in the autumn, offering a new home for its Education, Psychology and Social Work programmes.
 
Figures published earlier this year show that tourism alone contributes over £300 million to Gloucester’s local economy.
 
It shows that tourists spent around £246 million in Gloucester in 2023 and in total the overall economic impact was £310 million, benefitting businesses across the city.
 
Gloucester is also currently second in the county for attracting day trippers and ranks third for staycations. This is expected to rise following the opening of Hotel Indigo at the Forum.
 
Councillor Jeremy Hilton, Leader of Gloucester City Council, said: “This is great news for Gloucester. There is a huge amount of work taking place to transform the city and it is an exciting time to be living and working here. The Forum development is making excellent progress and along with the new University City Centre campus, we expect this to be a further boost to visitor numbers. And there are a many other projects taking shape, particularly the Greyfriars project, which will create a vibrant new garden quarter with space for community activities, a new market and food hall, as well as a park and gardens.”