London drives tourism in the British Isles

By Marek Grzybowski

After leaving the EU, Great Britain is an attractive destination for tourists from all over the world. More and more tourists are deciding to visit and stay in Great Britain. London is the magnet. In 2023, Great Britain welcomed 38 million tourists. They spent 31.1 billion pounds in 2023. And according to estimates, they will spend 32.5 billion pounds in 2024. The number of visits was 7% lower than before the pandemic (2019), but increased by 21% compared to 2022 – informs VisitBritain. In most regions of England, the number of visits to museums, castles and other attractive places increased by 4-8%. In London, there was a 26% increase in the number of visitors to these places. Tourists who chose to visit the UK spent a record £31.1bn on the island in 2023, up 9% on 2019 and 17% on 2022. Taking inflation into account, visitor spending fell 10% on 2019 and rose 9% on 2022.
The average spend per visitor (SPV) was £819 per visit in 2023, up 18% on 2019 but down 3% on 2022. In real terms, SPV fell 3% on 2019 and down 10% on 2022.
The latest VisitBritain estimates for inbound tourism in 2024. Foreign tourists will spend £32.5 billion in the UK. This is a 5% increase on 2023 and 14% on 2019. In terms of visits to the UK, visitors are forecast to plan 38.7 million visits in 2024. This is a 2% increase on the 38 million tourists in 2023. However, this is still 5% less than the pre-pandemic 2019. The latest research shows that Britons are more keen to visit the corners of their own country. Over a third of Britons (35%) are more likely to travel to the UK this year than abroad, compared to last year.

38 million tourists, 300 million nights
During the industry presentation, British Tourist Authority CEO Nick de Bois said: “it is time to recognise the importance of the UK’s tourism industry [to the national economy – MG]. The industry contributes £127 billion a year to the economy. It is the third largest services export. It is a growth and job-creating industry and an industry with huge potential to boost regional economies.”

In total, in the UK, staycations were spent on 292.9 million nights in 2023, up 1% on 2019 and 11% on 2022. Visitors to the UK spent an average of 7.7 nights in 2023, down on 2021 but up on 2019 (7.1 nights). The average spend per night (SPN) was £106 in 2023. This was up 8% on 2019 and 5% on 2022. In real terms, however, SPN fell by 11% on 2019 and 2% on 2022, according to VisitBritain statistics.
Virtually all regions saw an increase in visitor interest. Most countries and regions in the UK saw an increase in tourist visits compared to 2022, but remained below 2019 levels. Most also recorded record revenues related to tourist spend in nominal terms.
Of the 38 million inbound visits to the UK in 2023, London received just over half (53%) of tourists. Here, the proportion of visits from before the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2022 remained unchanged. Visitors to London spent record amounts in the capital of Albion, totalling £16.7 billion in 2023. This is an increase of 6% compared to 2019 and 18% compared to 2022, according to VisitEngland statisticians. Scotland proved to be an exceptionally attractive destination for visitors. The North of the British Isles saw the strongest recovery in several years. Scotland was the only country to exceed visitor levels from 2019. It recorded a record 4 million visits in 2023. Tourists visiting Scotland spent a record £3.6 billion in Scottish hotels, shops and restaurants. This is a 41% increase on 2019 and a 13% increase on 2022.
Visits to Wales were 13% lower than in 2019. But it also saw the strongest recovery compared to 2022. Tourist numbers were up 30% on 2022, with 892,000 visits last year. Visitors to Wales spent £458m in 2023. This is still -11% less than in the year before the pandemic. But tourist spending was 16% higher than in 2022.

England leads the way
VisitEngland figures released in July 2024 show that visits to tourist attractions continued to grow. Overall visits to England increased by 11% in 2023 compared to 2022, with the rate of growth slowing compared to the previous two years. Visitor numbers were down 28% on 2019.
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “Our unique attractions remain incredibly important to our tourism offer and it’s no wonder that domestic and international visitors are returning to our leading museums and galleries, and our world-class castles and historic houses.”
“These statistics give us an insight into the challenges that many attractions in England continue to face, but we are pleased to see that visits are slowly improving,” said Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England.

The study, which collected information from 1,513 locations with at least one English attraction, shows that the increase in visits in 2023 was mainly driven by the return of international visitors to popular and well-known destinations promoted by tour operators. There was also an increase in the number of school trips. Visits from outside the UK increased by 80% last year compared to 2022. Meanwhile, domestic visits to English attractions in 2023 fell by 2% compared to the previous year.

In most parts of England, visits to museums, castles and other attractions increased by 4-8%. In London, there was a 26% increase. International visitors dominated. Despite this high percentage increase, visits to London’s top attractions remained well below 2019 levels, down 22%.

The British Museum and the rest
The British Museum regained its position as the top “free attraction” in England in 2023 with 5.8 million visitors, up 42% on 2022. This is still down 7% on the pre-pandemic figure (compared to 2019). The Natural History Museum came second with 5.7 million visitors, up 18% on 2022. The third most visited free attraction in England in 2023 was the Tate Modern with 4.7 million visitors, up 22% on 2022.
The Tower of London once again came first on the list of the most visited “paid” attractions in England last year. The Tower welcomed 2.8 million visitors in 2023. The year saw a 38% increase compared to 2022. However, this was still down 6% on 2019. Kew Gardens retained its second place with 2 million visitors. Over the year, there was a 1% increase in visitors compared to 2022. The Zoo was the next attraction with 1.9 million visitors. This was a 6% increase compared to 2022.
River transport for passengers and tourists is very popular. There are over 20 operators providing this in London every day, transporting commuters and cars. There are also operators providing leisure and tourist cruises, both scheduled and charter. Transport for London has 33 piers at their disposal, from Hampton to Barking. All operators have plans to replace their vessels with environmentally friendly ones. We write more about it here >>

Historic Homes & Castles

The highest level of growth was recorded in the “Museums/Art Galleries” category, which saw one of the deepest falls in visitor numbers due to COVID-19, with a 20% increase in visitors in 2023 compared to 2022. “Places of worship” saw the second largest increase, up 19% compared to the previous year, while “Visitor/heritage centres” showed an improvement in visitor numbers last year, up 14% compared to 2022.

“Historic houses/castles” also saw good growth, with a 13% increase in 2023 compared to the previous year. Tourism is one of the largest, highly profitable industries in England. It is home to over 200,000 businesses that provide employment for around 2.6 million people. In 2023, the tourism industry generated sales of services worth £70.2 billion.

The most visited regions of England (excluding London) in 2023 were: South East (4.3 million visits), North West (3.4 million visits) and South West (2.4 million visits). Outside London, tourists were most likely to spend in the South East region (spending £2.5 billion), followed by the North West (spending £2.2 billion) and the most thrifty were tourists in the South West region of England (spending £1.5 billion).