Visitor numbers to York attraction fall by half, new figures show
The number of visitors to top York attractions for 2025 have been revealed.
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) has released the visitor figures of its members, which include big tourist venues in York.
It says 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, the year before Covid.
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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 uutdoor attractions.
The top York attraction in the list is the National Railway Museum. It comes in at number 64 out of 409.
It had 656,205 visitors in 2025, a fall of 5% on 2024.
RHS Garden Harlow Carr near Harrogate comes in at number 84 in the list, with 527,274 visitors, an increase of 8%.
Dalby Forest is at 100 with 440,298 visitors – also an increase of 8%.
At 101, York Minster had a fall of 4% in visitors, with a total of 437,204.
Tourists in York Minster. Photograph: Sergii Figurnyi / Dreamstime
Fountains Abbey Estate is at 102 with 436,630, up by 4%.
At 147 in the table, Castle Howard saw numbers drop by 3% to 287,193.
York Castle Museum comes in at 189, with 221,170 visitors – up by 5%.
A total of 150,674 visitors went to Clifford’s Tower, a fall of 7%, putting it at 222 in the list.
The Yorkshire Museum comes in at 270, seeing its visitors rise by an impressive 29% to 79,260.
At 300, Scarborough Castle visitors fell by 7% to 57,220.
Neck Ring from the Bedale Hoard in Viking North at the Yorkshire Museum. Photograph: Anthony Chappel-Ross.jpg
York Art Gallery saw the biggest drop in visitors – a fall of 53% to 52,560, putting it at 305.
That makes it a mixed picture for the York Museums Trust, which runs York Art Gallery, Yorkshire Museum and York Castle Museum.
A spokesperson for the trust said: “The exhibition ‘Viking North’ has earned excellent reviews, helping to make 2025 a standout year for the Yorkshire Museum.
“Achieving this success at a time when the tourism sector is navigating challenges including rising costs of living and delivery is something we’re incredibly proud of.
“This May, we look forward to building on that momentum with ‘Chariots, Treasure and Power: Secrets of the Melsonby Hoard’, the first major exhibition dedicated to this remarkable and unique late Iron Age discovery.
Monet’s ‘The Water-Lily Pond’ at York Art Gallery. Photographs: Richard McDougall
“Although we anticipated a natural dip after the huge success of ‘National Treasures: Monet in York’ in 2024, our most recent launch of ‘Making Waves: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print’ is already attracting strong audiences and demonstrating a continued appetite for high‑quality cultural experiences.
“York Castle Museum also remains a vibrant and much‑loved destination for residents and visitors, and we are pleased that visitor numbers have increased in 2025.
“Our team at the Castle consistently deliver great immersive experiences and a varied seasonal programme. The rich cultural offer we have in York is vital to both our residents and tourists, contributing to making this a great city to live in and visit.”
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