HERITAGE FACT SHEET 2 : Tourism
Significant economic impact
 Heritage tourism is an industry worth £12.4bn a year to the UK.1
 Taking into account indirect economic benefit heritage tourism is
responsible for £21bn of UK GDP annually.2
 Heritage tourism employs 195,000 people in the UK.3
 It is estimated 40% of employment in tourism depends directly on a
high quality built and natural environment, rising to between 60% and
70% in more rural areas. 4
Growth in times of recovery
 It is estimated that tourism economy will grow by 2.6% a year between
2009 and 2018, higher than the 0.8% forecast for manufacturing and
similar to retailing and construction5
 There were three quarters of a million more visitors to EH properties in
the year to October 2009, 16% up on the previous year’s total, bringing
the total number of EH visitors to 5.4 million.6 The number of paid visits
to National Trust properties rose from 11.9 million to the end of
September 2008 to 14 million to the end of September 2009, an
increase of 18%7
Attracting inbound visitors to England
 History/Built heritage is the strongest product driver in most overseas
markets, and is the highest rated attribute when perceiving Britain as a
tourist destination. 30% of overseas tourists claim heritage is the main
reason for them visiting the UK – stronger than any other single factor.8
 Over 80% of potential tourists would visit historic monuments and
buildings in Britain, making it the highest ranked activity. 8
 In 2006 a third of oversees visitors took part in sightseeing famous
buildings and monuments, only shopping was a more popular activity9
 Just under one in five (17%) of all visitors to heritage sites are from
outside of the UK10
1
Economic impact of heritage tourism, Oxford Economics, 2009. This includes museums
and green heritage sites as well as visits to the built historic environment
2 Economic impact of heritage tourism, Oxford Economics, 2009. This includes museums
and green heritage sites as well as visits to the built historic environment and the indirect
economic impact resulting from these sectors
3 Economic impact of heritage tourism, Oxford Economics, 2009. This includes museums
and green heritage sites
4 Valuing our Environment, National Trust
5 The Economic Case for the Visitor Economy, Deloitte, 2008
6 Internal English Heritage performance figures 12/2/2010
7 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/6513509/National-Trust-visitor-numbersup.html accessed 12/2/2010
8
9
ANHOLT-GMI Nation Brand Index, Visit Britain Nov 2007
Office for National Statistics, International Passenger Survey
10
VisitEngland Survey of Visitors to Visitor Attraction 2008
Heritage tourism has a local and regional impact as well as a national
importance
 In 2008, 38% of visitors to heritage sites are from outside of the
locality, 17% from overseas, bringing additional revenue to regions10
 In the North West, the heritage visitor economy is worth £803 million
Gross Value Added and supports 20,000 jobs11
 In the South West, Cumbria, North East and Wales it is estimated that
each job in the National Trust generates between 5 and nine additional
full time equivalent jobs4
 Brading Villa remains on the Isle of Wight is an example of how
heritage tourism can bring income to a local area. It is estimated that
approximately half of all visitors come to this area of the Isle of Wight
specifically for the attraction, and that each year the attraction is
responsible for maintaining 27 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs, in
addition to the direct 10 FTE12
Enjoyable and popular

28.4 million adults England (69%) visited a heritage site in the last 12
months13

More than 44 million visits were made to heritage sites in 200814

Overall three quarters of respondents (74%) have recommended a
historic site to friends and family 13

On average, visitors spend three hours at heritage site, a clear sign of
its popularity.13

Membership numbers continue to grow. In 2008/09 there were 3.6
million National Trust members, 687,000 English Heritage members
(up 27% and 54% respectively on 2001/02) and 27,000 friends of the
Historic Houses Association 14
Diverse Experiences
 Heritage tourism ranges from visiting stately homes and castles to sites
of industrial heritage and urban social history. In 2008/09 one in five
adults visited a place connected with industrial heritage and four in ten
adults visited a historic garden or park. 13
Historic Review Executive Committee
25 2 2010
11
Northwest Regional Development Agency, the Economic Impact of Heritage in the North
West, Amion Consulting, Locum Consulting and Taylor Young, 2009
12
Economic Impact Case Studies 2005-2008, HLF, November 2009
Taking Part 2008/09
14 Heritage Counts 2009
13