Wales Guidebook

Wales Tourism Statistics: Round-Up of Key Welsh Travel Stats [2024 Guide]

KW
Kieren Windsor

Kieren is the founder of Wales Guidebook. A Welshman born and bred, he has lived and travelled across Wales and now his full-time passion is sharing his favourite experiences and travel tips.

Ogwen Valley Snowdonia 1

If you’re looking for some key Wales tourism statistics, you’ve come to the right place.

I’ve rounded up some of the key facts from official sources including tourism boards and the Welsh government into one easy-to-use resource.

At the end of this article is a full list of the sources used to compile the data.

1. Wales receives more than 67 million visits for tourism purposes each year

Each year there are more than 67 million visits in Wales for tourism or holidays. This includes Welsh people taking trips to other parts of Wales.

This is made up of 62 million tourism day trips in Wales and 5.06 million overnight stays for holidays.

If we only include inbound visits (from people who usually live outside of Wales), Wales receives over 33 million visits for holidays or tourism each year.

Here is a breakdown of the numbers using data from 2019-2022 (all sources at the end):

Total Trips
Visitors from Wales (day trip)36.2 million
Visitors from England (day trip)24.4 million
Visitors from Scotland (day trip)1 million
Visitors from Wales (overnight stay)2.510 million
Visitors from England (overnight stay)7.213 million
Visitors from Scotland (overnight stay)0.244 million
Visitors from Overseas (overnight stay)0.227 million
67.287 million

Notes:

  • This data only includes visits that are primarily for tourism or holidays, it does not include visits primarily for visiting friends & family, business, or studying.
  • The chart uses the latest available data. Currently, the data for international visitors is from 2019, for domestic overnight visits is from 2021 and for domestic day trips is from 2022.

Source: https://www.gov.wales/international-inbound-visits-and-spend-wales-html, https://www.gov.wales/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-overnight-trips-2021-html, https://www.gov.wales/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-day-trips-wales-2022-html

2. Tourism accounts for £6 billion in revenue for Wales each year

According to the latest data (for 2019), tourism is worth £6 billion to the Welsh economy.

Source: https://www.gov.wales/wales-visitor-economy-profile-2021-html

3. Day trips to Wales are more important than overnight stays

The £6 billion tourist industry can be broken down as follows:

  • £3.4 billion spent on day trips to Wales by Brits
  • £2 billion spent on overnight visits to Wales by Brits
  • £0.5 billion spent by international visitors to Wales

Sources: https://www.gov.wales/wales-visitor-economy-profile-2021-html

4. Most visitors to Wales come from England

The nationality most likely to visit Wales is English, accounting for 94% of overnight stays.

Below is a table which breaks down the number of visitors to Wales by nationality.

NationalityOvernight Stays
England7,213,000
Scotland244,000
USA64,000
Germany41,000
Irish Republic40,000
France37,000
Netherlands28,000
Australia27,000
Italy22,000
Canada15,000

Notes:

  • This data includes all visits to Wales including tourism, visiting friends & family, and business. Specific data for tourism is unavailable.
  • The chart uses the latest available data. Currently, the data for international visitors is from 2019 and domestic overnight visits is from 2021.

Sources: https://www.gov.wales/international-inbound-visits-and-spend-wales-html  https://www.gov.wales/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-overnight-trips-2021-html

North Wales was the main destination for 30% of overnight trips taken in Wales by Brits.

The below table breaks this down for each region:

 Proportion of Overnight Trips
North Wales30%
South Wales24%
West Wales20%
Mid-Wales10%

Source:  https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/pdf-versions/2022/11/3/1667990356/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-overnight-trips-2021.pdf

Ogwen Valley Snowdonia 1

6. Around 11% of people work in the tourism industry in Wales

Tourism employed 151,000 people in Wales in 2020 which accounts for 11.3% of total employment.

This was slightly higher prior to the pandemic when it peaked at 161,000 (12.1% of employment) in 2019.

A recent survey found that 62% of English people think that tourism is Wales’ biggest industry. However, this is very wrong.

Tourism isn’t the biggest industry in Wales. The biggest industry in Wales is manufacturing which accounts for almost £12 billion each year, more than double what tourism brings in.

Source:  https://nation.cymru/news/over-half-in-england-think-tourism-is-wales-top-industry-and-15-think-its-still-coal-and-steel/ and https://www.gov.wales/wales-visitor-economy-profile-2021-html

7. Brits had 62 million days out in Wales in 2022

According to the latest data, Wales received 62 million day trips for tourism purposes from Brits in 2022, accounting for 6% of all tourism day trips taken within Great Britain.

Wales accounts for around 5% of the population of Britain so it overindexes.

The most popular activities undertaken on a day out in Wales are:

  • Visiting friends or relatives (27.9%)
  • Visiting a tourist attraction (18.5%)
  • Going for food and drink, a night out, or shopping (14.7%)
  • Sightseeing and exploring (9.5%)
  • Attending an organised event (6.9%)

Notes:

  • Number in brackets is the proportion of trips that included this activity in 2022.

Source:  https://www.gov.wales/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-day-trips-wales-2022-html

In 2022, Wales received 686,000 overnight visits from international visitors.

This represented just 2.2% of all visits to Britain. Given that Wales represents 5% of the population, Wales under-indexes on international visits.

This was acknowledged by the Minister for Tourism in the UK Government, MP Stuart Andrew who said that Wales “is not getting enough of the fair share of that visitor economy”

Of those that visited Wales from overseas, 338,000 (49%) came to Wales to visit family and friends, 227,000 (33%) came on holiday, and 95,000 (14%) came for business purposes.

Meanwhile, Scotland received more than its fair share with over 10% of visits to Britain being to Scotland, despite accounting for 8.6% of the British population.

Source: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/12643/pdf/ and https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/leisureandtourism/articles/traveltrends/2022

9. Wales is the cheapest day out in Britain, costing £38 on average

Tourism day trips in Wales were worth £2.37 billion in 2022. This means that each person spent around £38 per day.

This is lower than the average in England and Scotland which were both £41 using the same data.

 Source: https://www.gov.wales/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-day-trips-wales-2022-html

10. Barry Island Pleasure Park is the most visited attraction in Wales

Outdoor attractions dominate the most visited attractions in Wales, with Barry Island Pleasure Park topping the list with 1.25 million visitors per year.

Barry Island Pleasure Park 1
© Wales Guidebook

Here is a list of the top 10 most visited attractions in Wales in 2021, all of which are free (with latest annual visitor numbers shown in brackets):

  • Barry Island Pleasure Park (1,250,000)
  • Funland, Towyn (1,000,000)
  • Pembrey Country Park (804,513)
  • Newborough Forest (559,939)
  • Walkers on Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon (544,489)
  • Gwydir Forest Park (408,511)
  • Wepre Country Park (400,000)
  • Stackpole Nature Reserve (390,498)
  • Margam Country Park (305,678)
  • Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (285,411)

Source:  https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2022-08/visits-to-tourist-attractions-in-wales-2021.pdf

11. Cardiff Castle is the most-visited paid attraction in Wales.

Cardiff Castle was the most visited paid attraction in Wales in 2021 with 372,606 visitors. It has been consistently in the top 3 for the past 4 years.

Cardiff Castle Courtyard View with Keep 2
© Wales Guidebook

Here are the top 10 most visited paid attractions in Wales in 2021 (with the latest annual visitor numbers shown in brackets):

  1. Cardiff Castle (372,606)
  2. Folly Farm (348,689)
  3. Portmeirion (285,191)
  4. LC Swansea (285,047)
  5. Bodnant Garden (239,790)
  6. Nova Prestatyn (200,000)
  7. Zip World Forest (180,225)
  8. Zip World Slate Caverns (160,255)
  9. Conwy Castle (152,281)
  10. Zip World Penrhyn Quarry (142,889)

Source:  https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/statistics-and-research/2022-08/visits-to-tourist-attractions-in-wales-2021.pdf

12. Younger people are more likely to visit Wales than other parts of Britain

44% of those who took day trips in Wales were under the age of 35, compared to 41% across Great Britain as a whole.

This is consistent with the fact that Wales is known for hiking, outdoors, and adventure activities which will appeal to more to younger people.

Source:  https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/pdf-versions/2022/11/3/1667990356/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-overnight-trips-2021.pdf

In 2022, more people visited Wales on day trips between April to June than between July to September.

This is consistent with the fact that more younger people are visiting Wales who may not be as reliant on visiting during school holidays.

However, the importance of the school holidays to tourist attractions in Wales cannot be understated.

Sean Taylor, founder and president of Zip World which has several sites across Wales, said that the 49 days of summer holidays accounts for 55% of their turnover during the year.

Source:  https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/pdf-versions/2022/11/3/1667990356/domestic-gb-tourism-statistics-overnight-trips-2021.pdf and  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-66417213

14. Cardiff is the UK’s 12th most visited city

My final Welsh travel statistic is that, according to 2019 data, Cardiff received 382,000 visitors per year making it the 12th most visited destination in the UK.

The biggest was London with 21.7 million visitors. Meanwhile, Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, received 2.2 million visitors during the same year, placing it 2nd.

Source:  https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/40824/documents/198909/default/

Data Sources:

Published: 2 September 2023 · Last updated: 6 September 2023