Last month, British Tourism Week aimed to raise awareness of the size, value and importance of the UK’s visitor economy.
Government figures show that tourism is the country’s sixth biggest industry and accounts for almost £90bn in direct spend each year. It includes more than 200,000 businesses and provides 4.4% of the nation’s jobs.
Museums are a vital part of the UK tourism industry. Figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) show that eight of the most visited London attractions last year were museums or galleries. The most visited venues outside London are those run by the National Galleries of Scotland, according to Alva.
The coalition government is thought to be taking tourism seriously. Prime minister David Cameron gave a speech in summer 2010 at London’s Serpentine Gallery where he said that tourism was an overlooked giant within the UK economy and that it needed a new strategy to support it.
The new strategy was published last month. One of its goals is to build on the momentum created by the London Olympics and develop a £100m campaign to attract four million extra visitors to the UK in the years following 2012. The government says that if this is successful it will create more than £2bn extra spend in the economy and 50,000 jobs.
But some in the sector feel the government’s backing for tourism is being undermined by cuts in public sector spending that are hitting support for the visitor economy, particularly at local and regional levels.
Local tourism information centres (TIC) are often vital to smaller museums as they provide a reliable source of information for visitors. But some TICs are being closed while the future of others is under review. They are often funded by cash-strapped local authorities and there is no statutory requirement to provide them.
A December 2010 survey by the Tourism Company showed that a third of respondents were looking to make cuts to their TIC service. Nearly 20% of respondents were planning to close one or more TIC.
Regional tourism structures have also been hit by government cuts, particularly the abolition of the regional development agencies, which funded and coordinated tourism strategies in the regions.
The UK tourism strategy calls for tourist boards to be replaced by smaller, more focused, industry-led partnerships between tourism firms and government.
Whether the government’s plan to create what it calls “destination management organisations” works or not, the immediate problem is that these new bodies will take time to develop and could leave a vacuum at local level.
Despite this, there is much in the new tourism policy that museums can support. One of the aims is to increase the proportion of UK residents who holiday in the UK to match those who holiday abroad. For longer stays of four nights or more this would mean 29% of travellers holidaying in Britain rather than just 20% today.
Research just released by market research agency BDRC Continental shows that the appeal of the UK among Brits is rising. It found that almost half of the population are seriously considering staying in the UK for their main holiday this year compared with 39% in 2010 and just 29% in 2009.
Our national obsession, the weather, is also referred to in the tourism strategy. The aim is to help the tourism industry market more destinations around all-weather products, with museums being one of the most obvious examples.
Whatever the weather, the UK’s attractions, including museums, seem positive about the prospects for visitor numbers this year. An Alva survey of its 42 members, which manage a total of nearly 1,600 tourist sites, found that 35% thought that 2011 would be better than 2010 in terms of visitor figures and only 7% thought it would be worse.
This points to a buoyant tourism sector but there are still concerns that government cuts will hold back progress. In addition to the local authority reductions in tourist spending, cuts of 34% for VisitEngland and VisitBritain were announced last year.
The Tourism Alliance, which represents 200,000 businesses in the sector, has said that these budget reductions are at odds with Cameron’s comments that tourism represents a huge economic opportunity. Tourism Alliance chairman Ken Robinson has argued that the cuts are short-sighted and will hamper the growth in tourism and its role in rebuilding the economy.
Many involved in tourism, including museums and galleries, are hopeful that the big events outlined in the government’s tourism strategy, such as the London Olympics, will have a lasting legacy in terms of increased visitor numbers from home and abroad. But this optimism is tempered by the fact that cuts could undermine this legacy.
Visits in 2010: 5,842,138
Total %+/-: +4.9
Tate Modern
Visits in 2010: 5,061,172
Total %+/-: +7
National Gallery
Visits in 2010: 4,954,914
Total %+/-: +3.7
Natural History Museum
Visits in 2010: 4,64613
Total %+/-: +13.2
Science Museum
Visits in 2010: 2,751,902
Total %+/-: -0.5
V&A
Visits in 2010: 2,629,065
Total %+/-: +16
National Maritime Museum
Visits in 2010: 2,419,802
Total %+/-: +2.19
Tower of London
Visits in 2010: 2,414,541
Total %+/-: +1.04
St Paul’s Cathedral
Visits in 2010: 1,892,467
Total %+/-: +4
National Portrait Gallery
Visits in 2010: 1,819,442
Total %+/-: -7
Visits in 2010: 1,281,465
Total %+/-: +10.18
Edinburgh Castle
Visits in 2010: 1,210,248
Total %+/-: +1
Chester Zoo
Visits in 2010: 1,154,285
Total %+/-: -6.8
Kelvingrove, Glasgow
Visits in 2010: 1,070,521
Total %+/-: -21.75
Roman Baths, Bath
Visits in 2010: 1,054,621
Total %+/-: +2
Canterbury Cathedral
Visits in 2010: 1,033,463
Total %+/-: +2
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Visits in 2010: 1,027,475
Total %+/-: +9
Stonehenge
Visits in 2010: 1,009,973
Total %+/-: +2
Eden Project, Cornwall
Visits in 2010: 1,000,511
Total %+/-: -2.7
Wisley (RHS)
Visits in 2010: 803,986
Total %+/-: -16.2
Source: Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
Government figures show that tourism is the country’s sixth biggest industry and accounts for almost £90bn in direct spend each year. It includes more than 200,000 businesses and provides 4.4% of the nation’s jobs.
Museums are a vital part of the UK tourism industry. Figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) show that eight of the most visited London attractions last year were museums or galleries. The most visited venues outside London are those run by the National Galleries of Scotland, according to Alva.
The coalition government is thought to be taking tourism seriously. Prime minister David Cameron gave a speech in summer 2010 at London’s Serpentine Gallery where he said that tourism was an overlooked giant within the UK economy and that it needed a new strategy to support it.
The new strategy was published last month. One of its goals is to build on the momentum created by the London Olympics and develop a £100m campaign to attract four million extra visitors to the UK in the years following 2012. The government says that if this is successful it will create more than £2bn extra spend in the economy and 50,000 jobs.
But some in the sector feel the government’s backing for tourism is being undermined by cuts in public sector spending that are hitting support for the visitor economy, particularly at local and regional levels.
Local tourism information centres (TIC) are often vital to smaller museums as they provide a reliable source of information for visitors. But some TICs are being closed while the future of others is under review. They are often funded by cash-strapped local authorities and there is no statutory requirement to provide them.
A December 2010 survey by the Tourism Company showed that a third of respondents were looking to make cuts to their TIC service. Nearly 20% of respondents were planning to close one or more TIC.
Regional tourism structures have also been hit by government cuts, particularly the abolition of the regional development agencies, which funded and coordinated tourism strategies in the regions.
The UK tourism strategy calls for tourist boards to be replaced by smaller, more focused, industry-led partnerships between tourism firms and government.
Whether the government’s plan to create what it calls “destination management organisations” works or not, the immediate problem is that these new bodies will take time to develop and could leave a vacuum at local level.
Despite this, there is much in the new tourism policy that museums can support. One of the aims is to increase the proportion of UK residents who holiday in the UK to match those who holiday abroad. For longer stays of four nights or more this would mean 29% of travellers holidaying in Britain rather than just 20% today.
Research just released by market research agency BDRC Continental shows that the appeal of the UK among Brits is rising. It found that almost half of the population are seriously considering staying in the UK for their main holiday this year compared with 39% in 2010 and just 29% in 2009.
Our national obsession, the weather, is also referred to in the tourism strategy. The aim is to help the tourism industry market more destinations around all-weather products, with museums being one of the most obvious examples.
Whatever the weather, the UK’s attractions, including museums, seem positive about the prospects for visitor numbers this year. An Alva survey of its 42 members, which manage a total of nearly 1,600 tourist sites, found that 35% thought that 2011 would be better than 2010 in terms of visitor figures and only 7% thought it would be worse.
This points to a buoyant tourism sector but there are still concerns that government cuts will hold back progress. In addition to the local authority reductions in tourist spending, cuts of 34% for VisitEngland and VisitBritain were announced last year.
The Tourism Alliance, which represents 200,000 businesses in the sector, has said that these budget reductions are at odds with Cameron’s comments that tourism represents a huge economic opportunity. Tourism Alliance chairman Ken Robinson has argued that the cuts are short-sighted and will hamper the growth in tourism and its role in rebuilding the economy.
Many involved in tourism, including museums and galleries, are hopeful that the big events outlined in the government’s tourism strategy, such as the London Olympics, will have a lasting legacy in terms of increased visitor numbers from home and abroad. But this optimism is tempered by the fact that cuts could undermine this legacy.
Top 10 London attractions
British MuseumVisits in 2010: 5,842,138
Total %+/-: +4.9
Tate Modern
Visits in 2010: 5,061,172
Total %+/-: +7
National Gallery
Visits in 2010: 4,954,914
Total %+/-: +3.7
Natural History Museum
Visits in 2010: 4,64613
Total %+/-: +13.2
Science Museum
Visits in 2010: 2,751,902
Total %+/-: -0.5
V&A
Visits in 2010: 2,629,065
Total %+/-: +16
National Maritime Museum
Visits in 2010: 2,419,802
Total %+/-: +2.19
Tower of London
Visits in 2010: 2,414,541
Total %+/-: +1.04
St Paul’s Cathedral
Visits in 2010: 1,892,467
Total %+/-: +4
National Portrait Gallery
Visits in 2010: 1,819,442
Total %+/-: -7
Top ten attractions outside London
National Galleries of ScotlandVisits in 2010: 1,281,465
Total %+/-: +10.18
Edinburgh Castle
Visits in 2010: 1,210,248
Total %+/-: +1
Chester Zoo
Visits in 2010: 1,154,285
Total %+/-: -6.8
Kelvingrove, Glasgow
Visits in 2010: 1,070,521
Total %+/-: -21.75
Roman Baths, Bath
Visits in 2010: 1,054,621
Total %+/-: +2
Canterbury Cathedral
Visits in 2010: 1,033,463
Total %+/-: +2
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Visits in 2010: 1,027,475
Total %+/-: +9
Stonehenge
Visits in 2010: 1,009,973
Total %+/-: +2
Eden Project, Cornwall
Visits in 2010: 1,000,511
Total %+/-: -2.7
Wisley (RHS)
Visits in 2010: 803,986
Total %+/-: -16.2
Source: Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
