UK visitor attractions are struggling to recover from a downturn in numbers due to the pandemic.
New figures show a 23% decline last year on the 161.2 million visits made to the top 349 Association of Leading Visitor Attraction (Alva) sites in 2019.
Alva director Bernard Donoghue said: “We are 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, notably from China and the Far East, but I am confident that they will return this year and we will see a continuing healthy recovery.”
Alva noted that the cost of living crisis had led to a 183% year-on-year increase in visitors to free attractions. Those which charged admission experienced a 101% rise in visitors.
Total visitor numbers rose by 69% over 2021 to reach 123.4 million.
Windsor Great Park was the most visited attraction in the UK with 5.6 million visits, a 4% increase on 2021, followed by the National History Museum in London with 4.6 million visits.
London saw the strongest year-on-year performance with visits up 152% followed by Scotland up 128% and Northern Ireland up 120%.
The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich will be offering a £2 ticket for visitors in receipt of Universal Credit in response to the current cost of living crisis.
The Buckingham Palace State Rooms will open this summer from July 14 until September 24.