3.1. Overview

Bradford’s creative and visitor economy has particular strengths and weaknesses. Research shows it has a similar profile to the rest of the UK, with a dominant IT, software and computer services subsector, and with a high number of micro-businesses operating in the Creative, Cultural, and Digital Industries (CCIs) of Bradford. However, employment is comparatively low in relation to similar UK cities (4,335 working in the CCIs) and there is a lack of dense CCI clusters in the local authority.

Bradford district is rich in cultural assets, both buildings and events, that attract a diverse range of visitors. The district attracts 12 million visitors annually, which generates 14,000 jobs and brings an estimated £696m to the local economy. Currently, 54% of visitors come for cultural purposes. However while employment in the cultural and creative industries has been growing at approximately 4% annually in the rest of the Yorkshire and The Humber region, it has remained stagnant in Bradford. 

Matching or exceeding the local growth rate is a key aim for BD25 which aims to attract over 16 million visitors and bring a total value of £2.4bn to the local economy.

There are three key topics covered in this section: 

• Creative and cultural industries includes data on employment, sector size, creative clustering and the economic contribution of the sector.
• Artists and producers focuses specifically on creative talent in the district, exploring who they are, their practice and barriers to being a creative.
• Visitor economy reviews the assets and value of tourism and the visitor economy, as well as the impact of Covid-19.

As with the other sections, we then sketch out Gaps in the data and future Opportunities

Next section: Creative and cultural industries