VisitEngland’s annual attractions survey shows growth slows in visits to attractions
VisitEngland has published its 2024 Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions showing that visits to attractions across England saw a small rise in 2024 compared to 2023, and remained significantly down on pre-pandemic levels.
Overall, visits to attractions in England were up just 1.4 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023. When comparing to 2019, pre-pandemic, numbers were down 27% (see slide 7 of the full trends report).
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“With growth to our visitor attractions slowing it’s now more important than ever that we show our support for this important sector that contributes not only to local economies but to communities across England.
“As these survey results so clearly demonstrate, there remain challenges in getting our sector back to pre-pandemic levels and the cost-of-living impacts continue to bite.
“England’s first-class attractions, from our world-renowned museums, art galleries and historic houses to our places-of-worship, our parks and gardens, remain vitally important to our tourism offer to both international and domestic visitors.
“With summer on the doorstep and the school holidays fast approaching, make this the year you discover England’s fine attractions. Not only will you be giving our great attractions a much-needed boost, I know you will enjoy a fantastic day out with family and friends creating memories of a lifetime.”
Chief Executive of Historic England Duncan Wilson said:
“Heritage is so important to us all. It brings communities together, creating a sense of belonging and pride, and is a major contributor to our economy through domestic and international tourism.
“These survey results highlight the need to continue championing and supporting our shared local heritage. This year, we hope people discover new historic places on their doorsteps and continue to enjoy our valued heritage sites.”
The survey, which gathered information from 1,373 English attractions, shows that the growth seen was fuelled by overseas visitors. International visits to England’s attractions overall were up 6% last year compared to 2023. Domestic visits to attractions in 2024 meanwhile were down 1%.
Growth varied across the regions. Most regions saw a small increase in admissions. London’s attractions led with growth of 5%, largely driven by international visitors. Despite the increase the volume of attraction visits in London remains well below 2019 levels, down 18% overall. Three regions meanwhile saw small declines in admissions with one region on par.
The Tower of London was in the top spot in 2024 as the most visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England with 2.9 million visitors, up 4% on 2023 although down 3% on 2019. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was second with 2.3 million visitors, up 15 % on 2023 and Chester Zoo third with 1.9 million, on par with 2023.
The British Museum was the most visited ‘free’ attraction in England in 2024, with 6.5 million visitors, up 11% on 2023 and up 4% on 2019. Second was the Natural History Museum with 5.9 million visitors, up 4% on 2023. The third most visited free attraction in England in 2024 was the Tate Modern with 4.6 million visitors, down 3% on 2023.
The highest levels of growth were seen in the ‘Farms’ attraction category, with an 11% increase in visits in 2024 compared to 2023. ‘Visitor/Heritage Centres’ saw the second largest increase, up 6% on the previous year. ‘Places of Worship’ also showed growth in visitor numbers last year, up 5% on 2023. ‘Historic Houses/Castles’ saw a 3% increase in visits in 2024 compared to the previous year.
See the results of the VisitEngland Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions in 2024 including the top 20 ‘paid for’ and ‘free’ visitor attractions across England and the regional data.
Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, generating about £76 billion annually for the economy in 2024 in domestic visitor spending. VisitEngland’s annual attractions survey shows growth slows in visits to attractions