ALVA announces 2% rise in visitor numbers to UK's most popular attractions in 2025
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) has released the visitor figures of its members for 2025 today (Friday March 20 2026) during English Tourism Week and Scottish Tourism Month.
The total number of visits to 409 ALVA sites in 2025 was 165 million, which was a 2% increase on the previous year but still represented a decline of 7% on the 170 million visits in 2019 to the top ALVA sites.
Mixed sites that are a combination of both indoor and outdoor elements saw the biggest increase of 2.5% in visitors compared to a 2% increase in outdoor attractions. In addition, 231 sites highlighted that they welcomed at least 46.3 million visits in 2025 where the visitor was from overseas.
In Scotland, the most-visited free attraction continued to be the National Museum of Scotland, which saw 2,318,305 visits and moved to 12th place, followed by Edinburgh Castle which continued to be the most visited paid for attraction in Scotland with a 3% increase in visitors to 2,044,963 (15th place). National Galleries Scotland: National welcomed 2,004,777 visitors (16th place) and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum saw a 3% increase to 1,219,831 and moved up one place to 26th, followed by Riverside Museum with 1,212,151 visitors (28th).
Forthcoming exhibitions and experiences in Scotland include Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show, which will celebrate over 125 years of catwalk history from April 3 at V&A Dundee; The Edwardians: Age of Elegance at The King’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse, from April 24; and Barbie®: The Exhibition which is set to make its Scottish debut at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from June 13. Gwen John: Strange Beauties will take over the whole of National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two from August 1 and at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, this autumn, after four years of vital restoration work, their magnificent 19th century Palm Houses will reopen to the public.
The most-visited attraction in the UK for the first time was the Natural History Museum (South Kensington) – who experienced a 13% increase in visitors to 7,116,929, which is an all-time record for any UK museum or gallery. In second place was the British Museum with 6,440,120 visitors; in third place and the most visited outdoor attraction was Windsor Great Park (The Crown Estate) which welcomed 4,978,299 visitors; and in fourth place was Tate Modern with 4,514,266 visits. The top Paid for Attraction was the Tower of London in ninth place with 2,817,852 visitors.
The typical attraction in Scotland saw a 2.6% increase and Wales saw a 0.9% increase. The region of England outside London with the biggest year-on-year growth was the North West which was up 11.3%, followed by East Midlands, which was up 7.5%.
Head of Glasgow Museums and Collections, Jane Rowlands, said: “Welcoming 3.7 million visits in 2025 demonstrates the continued relevance and appeal of Glasgow’s museums. While venues such as Kelvingrove, Riverside and The Burrell are long-established favourites, they continue to evolve through new displays, acquisitions and events that encourage repeat visits. The high number of international visitors also reinforces Glasgow’s standing as a world-class cultural destination.
“As a charity dedicated to Glasgow, we recognise the powerful role culture plays in supporting wellbeing. In the year ahead, we will continue to develop new exhibitions and work with communities, to ensure our museums reflect the diversity of the city and remain spaces that spark conversation.”