Emma Saunders, a culture reporter, shared the latest findings that revealed the British Museum as the most-visited attraction in the UK for the second consecutive year based on official figures. In 2024, the iconic London museum welcomed 6,479,952 visitors, marking an 11% rise from the previous year. Following closely behind was the Natural History Museum in the capital, which saw an 11% increase in visitors, totaling 6,301,972 and securing the second spot.
According to data from Alva (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions), the overall visitor numbers for the UK’s top attractions showed a 3.4% increase year-on-year. However, the total number of visits to the 400 Alva sites in 2024 decreased by 8.8% compared to 2019, amounting to 157.2 million visits. Windsor Great Park, part of the Crown Estate, experienced a 3% rise in visitors, welcoming 5,670,430 visitors and claiming the third position on the list.
Alva director Bernard Donoghue commented on the challenges faced by the cultural and heritage economies due to the long economic recovery from Covid lockdown and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. He acknowledged the fragility of the recovery process but highlighted visitors’ continued interest in day trips to beloved attractions. Additionally, Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland emerged as the most visited attraction in Scotland, with a 6% increase and moved up to the 11th spot in the UK list with 2,314,974 visitors.
Noteworthy successes included the National Portrait Gallery in London, which reopened in summer 2023 after a three-year redevelopment and experienced a 36% increase in visitors. The Museum of Liverpool, Pitt Rivers in Oxford, and The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge also saw significant uplifts in visitor numbers. Buckingham Palace, with limited summer opening, welcomed its highest number of visitors in history, and the UK Parliament witnessed a substantial 196% increase in visitors, illustrating a growing interest in cultural and historical sites across the country
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