UK Music Tourism Boom Generates £6.6 Billion of Spending

UK Music has unveiled its Here, There and Everywhere report, which reveals the huge contribution of music tourism to the UK economy.

The new report outlines the impact of the eagerly anticipated resurgence of live music in 2022 – the first full year of post-pandemic festivals, gigs and concerts in the UK, and shows the international reputation of the UK’s live music events.

Music tourists were lured by the return of major events such as Glastonbury, where headliners included Sir Paul McCartney, and UK tours by top British artists, including Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran and Elton John.

The key findings for 2022 of Here, There and Everywhere include:

· Total number of music tourists attending live music events across the UK in 2022 was 14.4 million.

· Total number of foreign music tourists in 2022 was 1.1 million.

· Total number of domestic music tourists in 2022 was 13.3 million.

· Total music tourism spending in 2022 was £6.6 billion.

· Total employment sustained by music tourism in 2022 was 56,000.

The data also revealed that:

· Total attendance at UK festivals and concerts in 2022 was 37.1 million.

· A total of 6.5 million music fans attended festivals in the UK in 2022.

· A total of 30.6 million people attended concerts (which includes everything from arena shows to grassroots gigs).

UK Music estimates that the £6.6 billion that music tourism supported last year could increase significantly by 2030 – with the right support from Government, local councils and others to spread growth and jobs across the UK.

A key part of the report focuses on the action that towns and cities across the UK can take to use music to help turbo-charge their local economies and support jobs. A special toolkit outlines how local authorities and others can utilise existing funding and spaces to help music thrive across the UK.

The toolkit includes four recommendations for local councils on how to build their own music communities:

· Use data to ensure music is at the heart of planning and licensing policy.

· Create a register of available spaces and places to support music activities.

· Enshrine music and the local community in regeneration and development.

· Set up or support city-wide music advisory boards.

Here, There and Everywhere also features a breakdown of music tourism data for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – as well as in the eight English regions.

The report also features case studies from across the UK that highlight good practice, from the Liverpool City Region Music Board and their post-Eurovision legacy plans, to Black Bay Studio, which is located on Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, in a converted fish factory.

UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, said: “Music is one of our country’s great assets – not only is it absolutely critical to the economic success of our local areas, but it also generates huge amounts of soft power and helps put our towns and cities on the global map.

“In 2022, music pulled more than 14 million tourists into local areas and supported £6.6 billion of spending in local economies across the UK. This is testament to just how important a thriving musical ecosystem is for our towns and cities.

“But while music generates huge benefits for our local areas, the infrastructure and talent pipeline that it relies on still faces huge challenges. With a venue closing every week, one in six festivals not returning since the pandemic, and many studios facing huge economic pressures, it’s vital that we protect the musical infrastructure that does so much for our towns and cities.”

“Post-pandemic, the role of music in transformative placemaking is more important than ever – and this report provides a valuable toolkit for local authorities to help them seize the benefits of being a “music city”.

“By harnessing the power of music, nations and regions across the UK can generate thousands more jobs, boost economic growth and attract even more visitors to the local area. This report shows how to turn that potential into reality.”

VisitBritain/VisitEngland CEO, Patricia Yates, added: “Music’s ability to promote messages of warm welcome - a top motivator in destination choice - was well and truly on show during the UK’s recent hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine.

“We know there is pent-up demand for travel and our research shows almost half of travellers already associate the UK with music. A further 44% VisitBritain surveyed were keen on attending a live music festival on holiday abroad.

“Music tourism offers hugely valuable and exciting opportunities to influence destination choice and bookings and to build on the strong recovery we have seen in overseas visitor spending in the UK.”

The full report can be read here.

Main image credit: Kate Green/Getty Images