Most visited tourist attractions in the UK 2019-2021

The Windsor Great Park was the most visited tourist attraction in the United Kingdom in 2021. That year, the Royal Park in Windsor, managed by the Crown Estate, attracted roughly 5.4 million visitors. Another two outdoor attractions followed in the ranking in 2021, as the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew Gardens) and the Chester Zoo recorded nearly two million and 1.6 million visits, respectively. Overall, after the sharp drop in visitors reported in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, most attractions on the list experienced an increase in visits in the following year, although figures remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Royal tourism declines during COVID-19

During the global health crisis, the number of visitors to the Royal Estate declined significantly. The Windsor Castle and Frogmore House was the only establishment within the Royal Estate to report more than 100 thousand attendees during 2020/2021. Overall, total admissions to the Royal Estate in the UK decreased by approximately three million visitors that year.

Most visited attractions in Scotland

Visitor attractions in Scotland also experienced a dramatic fall in attendance due to the pandemic. Before COVID-19, Edinburgh Castle was the most visited paid attraction in Scotland. In 2021, however, the castle registered only 424 thousand visitors, making Edinburgh Zoo the most visited paid attraction in the country. Meanwhile, the National Museum of Scotland was not able to recover the same visitor volume reported in 2019, but it ranked as the most visited free visitor attraction in Scotland in 2021, with 661 thousand visitors.