NEWS: Music tourism earns UK £3.7bn

Music Tourism Earns UK £3.7bn

There were 10.4m music tourists who travelled to a music event in the UK last year, generating a total £3.7bn in direct and indirect spend for the country.

The vitality of the UK's festival and concert scene was underlined by the figures published by UK Music, the industry body, in its 2016 Wish You Were Here report.

Almost four out of every 10 audience members at a UK live music event in 2015 was a music tourist. Based on an analysis of venues with a capacity of more than 1,500 people, the number of overseas music tourists visiting the UK increased by 16 per cent in 2014-15 to 767,000.

These overseas music tourists spent £38m at the box office in 2015, with each overseas visitor spending a total average of £852 whilst in the UK.

Music tourism contributes to the economy of regions throughout the UK, sustaining an estimated 39,034 full time jobs.

For example, the report estimates that music scenes in Cambridge, Norwich and Chelmsford and the region's festivals such as V and Latitude contribute to a total of £316m in direct and indirect music tourism spend in the East of England. Glasgow alone is estimated to generate £105m from music tourism out of the total £295m generated in Scotland.

The report also quantifies the financial impact from music tourism in London, the South East, the South West, Wales, the West and East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East and North West of England and in Northern Ireland.