Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions: Latest results

Each year, we invite all English visitor attractions to take part in an annual survey, recording visitor numbers alongside key information like entrance fees and visitor profiles.

2021 Headline results

The results from this survey are reported annually, providing an overview of the visitor attraction sector.

The full report on 2021 trends is available here: 2021 Trends Report (PDF, 3.6MB)

The survey is carried out through a mix of online and postal survey. This approach means we're unable to verify results provided by individual attractions beyond a very basic 'sense check'. Read more about our methodology (PDF, 487KB)

Survey users should also be aware that the lists of English attractions included in the report only feature those that choose to participate and agree to make their results public.

The Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions is an official statistic and is produced in adherence with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (2009). You can find out more about what this means by visiting Official Statistics

If you have any queries about the survey, get in touch. Results of the survey are published according to our release timetable

TOP 10 MOST VISITED FREE ATTRACTIONS IN ENGLAND:

Rank

Name of Attraction

2019 Visitors

2020 Visitors

2021 Visitors

1

Brighton Pier

4,901,221

4,110,005

4,260,485

2

Natural History Museum

5,423,932

1,296,763

1,571,413

3

British Museum

6,239,983

1,275,466

1,327,120

4

Abbey Gardens (Bury St Edmunds)

1,228,564

1,021,048

1,276,864

5

Tate Modern

6,098,340

1,431,704

1,156,037

6

Somerset House

2,841,772

724,310

984,978

7

Science Museum

3,301,975

861,795

957,223

8

Victoria and Albert Museum

3,992,198

872,750

857,742

9

Clacton Pier

Not available

450,000

450,000

10

National Gallery

6,011,007

1,197,143

708,924

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOP 10 MOST VISITED PAID ATTRACTIONS IN ENGLAND:

Rank

Name of Attraction

2019 Visitors

2020 Visitors

2021 Visitors

1

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Gardens

2,316,699

1,222,956

1,963,171

2

Chester Zoo

2,086,785

1,182,652

1,601,327

3

RHS Garden Wisley

1,236,434

993,516

1,410,785

4

Windermere Lake Cruises

1,613,785

419,574

1,065,707

5

Trentham Gardens

Not available

543,113

772,678

6

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

732,672

630,772

754,896

7

ZSL London Zoo

1,157,076

504,351

742,359

8

Tatton Park

769,000

580,000

740,000

9

Longleat Safari & Adventure Park

1,011,314

495,037

727,800

10

Blenheim Palace

984,913

424,416

599,601