British culture and heritage
Released on:
December 2014
and January 2016
Report highlights
- Sightseeing famous monuments, visiting museums and art galleries and visiting castles and historic houses are all within the top seven activities undertaken by international visitors.
- In this study, ‘culture’ was seen as everything that makes a nation distinct, it is alive and active, something to experience. ‘Heritage’, on the other hand, is something to see, having a connotations of looking back at what had shaped the present. However, culture and heritage are ultimately seen as intertwined.
- Visitors to Great Britain absorb ‘culture and heritage’ in a variety of ways on holidays. It is not just about a specific attraction but also about additional auxiliary experiences to complement and enhance a visitor’s overall experience.
- What people look for from ‘culture and heritage’ on holiday:
- Emotional impact: to be moved and inspired, astonished and amazed, awed and intrigued, to feel welcome
- Different experiences: spiritually enriching, intellectually nourishing, surprising and challenging, offering a sense of discovering new places and things
- Immersion: sharing with the locals, active participant, not just a spectator, genuine and authentic experiences
View the reports
2014-12 Leveraging our Culture and Heritage_FR_DE_US_research_overview.pdf
View the research overview.
2014-12 Leveraging our Culture and Heritage_FR_DE_US.pdf
View this report looking into the role of the UK's culture and heritage in visits of those from France, Germany and the USA.
2016-01 Leveraging our Culture and Heritage_BR_CN_IT.pdf
View this report looking into the role of the UK's culture and heritage in visits of those from Brazil, China and Italy.
About the reports
The Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index (NBI) provides insight into the perceptions of the UK’s culture and heritage amongst respondents in 20 countries around the world. The NBI consistently ranks the UK’s strengths in history and culture attributes including contemporary culture, historic buildings and cultural heritage. For more information on the perceptions of the UK head to our UK image overseas page.
In 2014, we looked further into understanding the role of culture and heritage in three inbound markets. This research conducted among respondents from France, Germany and the USA showed visitors sought opportunities to relax as well as destinations offering lots to see and do. Other elements considered important were famous places (buildings and attractions) and expectations of a friendly welcome from the locals.
During 2015, VisitBritain explored how best to leverage British culture in Brazil, China and Italy. Supporting previous research, the report finds that Britain’s built culture ranks highly with opportunities to turn up communications around ‘living the feeling.’ In this report, published January 2016, we suggest top ten tips for promoting travel to Britain in these markets.
Further resources
Find out what activities and experiences inbound visitors undertake in Britain, including going to museums, art galleries, castles and historic houses.
Our large-scale exploratory project in 2022 into the motivations, influences, decisions and sustainability (MIDAS) of inbound travellers also highlighted the strength and diversity of Britain’s history. See the MIDAS research page for more information.
If you would like to find data on visits to specific attractions, every year we run an annual survey of visits to visitor attractions, recording visitor numbers alongside other key information such as entrance fees and visitor profiles.
