Birmingham’s breaking records

This week has been a huge one for Birmingham. Yesterday, it hit the headlines that the city attracted a record number of visitors, with three million extra people heading to its bright lights.

In all, 37.2 million visitors came to Birmingham during 2014 – ten per cent more than any city outside of London – delivering a £500 million boost, and marking the highest number of visitors since records began.

Key lures for them were cited as the new Library of Birmingham, the Frankfurt Christmas Market and the Conservative Party Conference.

Imagine what this year’s figures will look like. This week alone has seen Resorts World open; representing an enormous leisure attraction, and the Mailbox finally opened its doors after an extensive refit.

And that’s without mention of the fantastic new gateway to the city, new-look New Street and Grand Central.

The number of reasons to head to Birmingham have never been stronger. In a matter of weeks the Christmas market will establish itself for the festive season once again – the largest in the UK – and with so much more to see beyond its stalls, it’s likely this Christmas will be the busiest the city has seen since the Bullring opened in 2003.

While we may never surpass the Capital when it comes to attracting new people to see the delights of Birmingham, I’m confident that we’ll continue to welcome millions more, well and truly cementing our position as the UK’s second city.