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Business News Live Business
Music tourists generate £2.2 billion for UK economy, says report
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 11 October 2013
Music tourists spent £2.2 billion in the UK last year, according to a new report from UK Music and VisitBritain, who are calling on government to do more to capitalise on the country’s musical heritage and the continued global success of British music stars, and for regional towns and cities to likewise look to their music links when trying to attract tourists.
I’m planning on doing my bit this Christmas by setting up a Harry Styles museum in my mum and dad’s shed up there in Holmes Chapel, and then promoting it to 1D fans in China.
According to the ‘Wish You Were Here’ report, 6.5 million music-loving tourists attended festivals or gigs in the UK last year, spending £2.2 billion in the process. And while a sizable chunk of that spending went on tickets, transport and accommodation, other businesses benefited too from music fans as they traveled around the country. The report also reckons that those visitors classified as ‘music tourists’ spent more while in the country, with those here to attend music festivals spending on average £910 during their trip, compared to the usual average tourist spend of £600 (I bet the other £310 went on beer).
Commenting on the report, VisitBritain CEO Sandie Dawe told reporters: “This report confirms that the UK’s music scene has significant international appeal and that music tourists spend lots of money and travel across the whole of Britain. This will act as a catalyst for us all to ramp up our activity and forge better relationships with festival organisers, promoters, venues and producers to raise awareness of our amazing music scene across the world”.
And at least paying lip service to the report and its recommendations on behalf of the government, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said: “Music is without question an essential element of Britain’s tourism appeal, and it is this ability of the UK’s music industry to attract tourists from near and far to our shores that is celebrated in this report”.
