According to a new report, Leeds’ council-run cultural offerings have helped to generate significant economic growth in the last year.
Museums and galleries run by Leeds City Council have generated £41.7 million for the local economy in the last 12 months, as discovered by a report from Leeds Museums and Galleries, with offerings also boosting local jobs and supporting business and education.
In the last financial year, popular visitor attractions in the city welcomed just less than one million visitors, with more than 109,000 children taking part in activities. Alongside those who physically went to view the city’s collections, online engagement was able to bring 3.9 million page views – with this helping to attract £2,365,364 in external funding to Leeds.
Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Active Lifestyles and Culture at Leeds City Council, Cllr Salma Arif, commented on this boost:
“It’s well known that our museums and galleries give hundreds of thousands of visitors and families each year an unforgettable visitor experience and help raise the positive profile of our city as a cultural destination both regionally and internationally.
“But it’s also important to recognise the huge contribution museums, arts and culture make to the local economy, attracting not only visitors to the city but inward investment, job creation and education and training opportunities.
“Add to that the positive impact these sites have on residents’ wellbeing in Leeds, through volunteering opportunities and a programme of free, community-based activities, and the wider benefits of having such a thriving and innovative museums and galleries service simply cannot be overstated.”
The report was conducted to explore the positive impact of cultural offerings across Leeds and, alongside the aforementioned statistics, was able to establish that not only does the service generate approximately £8 for every £1 that is invested into it, it only costs around £4.88 per year for every person in Leeds. This comes as it has an annual budget of around £5 million.
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