TOURISM is worth more than £430 million to Bolton's economy, it has been revealed.

Latest figures show that the borough's booming tourism industry generated £431.8 million in 2016, an increase of £11 million from the previous year.

There were also an extra 100,000 people attending major events such as the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and the Ironman UK race — taking the total number of annual visitors up to 6.6 million.

The growth is also attributed to popular attractions such as Bolton Museum, Aquarium and Archive, which was in the top ten most-visited attractions in Greater Manchester.

The Octagon Theatre, Bolton’s historic halls — Smithills Hall and Hall i' th' Wood — and Moorgarth’s £23 million transformation of the Market Place Shopping Centre have also drawn more and more visitors into the town.

Deputy Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Ebrahim Adia, welcomed the figures. He said: “These figures show that Bolton is continuing to attract visitors, with a record number of people choosing to spend time in our town – and spend their money here.

“Bolton has so much to offer, including fantastic events, picturesque countryside and attractions such as Bolton Museum and the Aquarium continue to pull people in.

“The data from 2016 reflects the ongoing appeal of our major events such as Food and Drink Festival and the Ironman UK Triathlon."

In 2016, the Food and Drink Festival attracted more than 260,000 visitors — a record which was smashed again last summer when 267,000 foodies flocked to the town centre.

Cllr Adia added: “Every year we work hard to attract as many visitors as possible and the top quality events we provide and the attractions and accommodation across Bolton are certainly doing that.

“The retail and leisure offer has also improved in the town centre with investment in the Market Place Shopping Centre, and the rich mix of what Bolton has to offer is drawing visitors.

“Bolton is most definitely open for business. We recently unveiled our £1 billion town centre masterplan which will continue to further regenerate our town centre.”

The figures have been released by Bolton Council as part of an annual report which outlines tourism performance.

The data was compiled using the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM), which uses a range of data sources including hotel occupancy rates, surveys, and visitor figures.