The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) has released the 2022 visitor figures of its members, revealing a demand for free sites due to the cost of living crisis.
Per a press release from ALVA, UK attractions with free entry except for special exhibitions and events reported the strongest year-on-year growth in visits with an increase of 183 percent.
The total number of visits to ALVA’s venues in 2022 was 123.4 million – an increase of 69 percent on 2021 (73.1 million) but a decline of 23 percent on the 161.2 million visits in 2019.
Unlike the previous year, indoor attractions grew in popularity in 2022. That said, the most visited destination was once again Windsor Great Park, an outdoor venue.
“These figures show that visitors flocked back to their favourite places in 2022 to breathe, heal, repair and to enjoy special moments with special people in special places,” said Bernard Donoghue, ALVA’s director.
“The year ended strongly with attractions reporting a very busy Christmas, strong visitor numbers and strong retail sales.
“People clearly wanted to create special memories with their loved ones after two difficult years and a challenging economic climate.”
The most visited indoor attraction and the second most visited in general was the Natural History Museum, with 4.6 million guests. The British Museum went from sixth place to third with 4.1 million visitors.
“Tourism equivalent of ‘long Covid’”
Also in the top 10 were Tate Modern, Southbank Centre, the National Gallery, the V&A, Somerset House, the Science Museum, and the Tower of London – all in London.
In Scotland, the most visited attraction was the National Museum of Scotland, and the most visited in Northern Ireland was Titanic Belfast.
Museums and galleries reported a 158 percent rise in visits compared with 2021. Visits to heritage and cathedral sites increased by 55 percent, and visits to zoos by 15 percent.
The attractions industry is “still experiencing the tourism equivalent of ‘long Covid’ with many attractions still not back up to 2019 visitor levels due, mainly, to the absence of international visitors”, Donoghue added.
