The UK's music tourism industry is now worth £11.2 billion

The UK's music tourism industry was worth a staggering £11.2 billion in 2025, according to data published by UK Music.

Arena shows from high-profile stars such as Dua Lipa, Oasis, Beyoncé and Coldplay, as well as festivals such as Glastonbury, Boomtown and Wireless, helped to attract over 24.7 million visitors last year.

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Of that figure, 2.1 million were overseas tourists, a 26.8% increase from 1.6 million in 2024, while 22.6 million were tourists were from the UK, signalling a 3.2% rise from the year prior's figure of 21.9 million visitors.

In the North West of England, music tourism spending surged to £1.4 billion in 2025 (up 15.6% from £1.2 billion in 2024), while music tourists in London contributed around £3.4 billion in spending. 

UK music's tourism spending figures in 2025 consist of £5.7 billion of direct costs to visitors, including tickets, hotels, travel, food, drink and more, and an additional £5.5 billion of indirect costs such as security at venues.

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"The record 24.7 million music tourists who spent £11.2 billion to enjoy the experience of seeing their favourite acts live is a tribute to the 220,000 people who work across the UK music industry," says UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl.

"However, the government must support music fans by delivering on their manifesto pledge to tackle the menace of ticket touts who charge exorbitant prices for resale tickets – squeezing the amount of cash fans have to spend on gig-going," he continues.

"We also need to see music’s grassroots protected and nurtured. This includes the artists, venues, festivals, studios and rehearsal rooms that are embedded in our local communities and who are essential to the future prosperity of our world-leading industry." 

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.