Liverpool is one of the UK's five most visited cities by international travellers, drawing 918,000 inbound visits in 2024 according to VisitBritain's town-level data from the ONS International Passenger Survey. The wider Liverpool City Region's visitor economy was worth £6.25 billion in 2024 and supported more than 55,000 jobs, while Liverpool John Lennon Airport carried a record 5.6 million passengers in 2025 — the highest total in its 92-year history. From the Beatles and two Premier League clubs to the Eurovision legacy, the city's tourism mix is unusually event- and culture-driven. All figures below come from official and industry sources — VisitBritain/ONS, the Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership's STEAM and STR data, the Civil Aviation Authority and independent event evaluations — and are the latest available as of 2026.
Key Liverpool tourism statistics
- 918,000 international visits in 2024 — the 5th-highest of any UK town or city (VisitBritain/ONS IPS).
- The Liverpool City Region's visitor economy was worth £6.25 billion in 2024, up from £5.18 billion in 2022 (STEAM).
- 57.07 million visitors came to the city region in 2024, including 5.97 million staying visitors.
- Tourism supported 55,278 jobs across the city region in 2024, with 38,003 of them in Liverpool itself.
- Liverpool John Lennon Airport handled a record 5.6 million passengers in 2025, beating the 2007 peak of 5.5 million.
- Liverpool has 88 hotels with 9,009 rooms, and city-region hotels sold a record 3.34 million room nights in 2024 at 75.5% occupancy (STR).
- Hosting Eurovision 2023 delivered a £54.8 million net boost to the local economy, with 473,000 people attending events.
International visitors: a top-five UK city
- Liverpool received 918,000 international visits in 2024, ranking 5th among UK towns behind London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham (VisitBritain). Note that 2024 IPS estimates are badged 'official statistics in development' after methodology changes.
- Inbound visits grew 32% in 2023, from 675,000 in 2022 to 900,000 — one of the strongest recoveries of any major UK city that year (LCR Tourism Dashboard).
- Liverpool was the UK's 4th most visited city for inbound business trips in 2023, with 163,000 business visits — ahead of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- Liverpool's conference standing is climbing fast: the city hosted 23 international association meetings in the 2024 ICCA report, jumping from 173rd to 112th in the global city rankings and from 98th to 65th in Europe.
How Liverpool compares with other UK cities
- In 2024, London led the UK with 20.95 million inbound visits, followed by Edinburgh (2.56 million) and Manchester (1.52 million) (VisitBritain).
- Liverpool's 918,000 visits put it just 9,000 visits behind 4th-placed Birmingham (927,000) — a much smaller gap than in 2023, when Birmingham led by 34,000.
- Liverpool held 5th place in all three years from 2022 to 2024, ahead of Glasgow (685,000 visits in 2023) and Bristol (569,000).
Visitor economy and jobs
- Visitor spending in the Liverpool City Region reached £6.251 billion in 2024, edging up 0.1% on 2023 despite softer footfall, as average spend per visitor rose (LCR Destination Partnership).
- The region welcomed 57.07 million visitors in 2024 — 51.10 million day visitors and 5.97 million staying visitors — down 5.3% on 2023's 60.29 million.
- Tourism supported 55,278 jobs in 2024 (42,482 direct, 12,796 indirect), led by shopping (16,094 jobs) and food and drink (14,209 jobs).
- Liverpool itself generates the lion's share of the region's visitor economy: £4.37 billion of the £6.25 billion total and 38,003 of the jobs (LCR Tourism Dashboard).
- A new Destination Management Plan (2025–2030) targets further growth in year-round visits, new audiences and infrastructure investment.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport: record-breaking growth
- LJLA handled more than 5.6 million passengers in 2025 — the busiest year in its 92-year history, beating the previous record of 5.5 million set in 2007 and up 11% on 2024 (LCR Destination Partnership).
- CAA statistics show passenger numbers of 5.07 million in 2024, up 21% on 2023's 4.19 million and finally surpassing the pre-pandemic 2019 total of 5.04 million (CAA via Wikipedia).
- Growth has been driven by the arrival of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays in 2024 plus expansion by easyJet and Ryanair, with over 70 direct destinations now served (Liverpool Chamber of Commerce).
- Dublin was the busiest route in 2025 with 566,596 passengers, followed by Alicante (380,613) and Belfast International (358,462).
- The airport was voted the UK's best airport in the Which? annual survey for the second year running.
Hotels: record room sales
- Liverpool has 88 hotels offering 9,009 rooms; across the wider city region the total is 148 hotels and 12,694 rooms (STR data via the LCR Tourism Dashboard).
- City-region hotels sold a record 3,341,513 room nights in 2024, up from 3,243,315 in 2023 and 3,105,497 in 2022.
- Hotel occupancy averaged 75.5% in 2024 (76.5% in 2023), with an average daily rate of £85.70 and RevPAR of £65.00.
- Average room rates have climbed steeply since the pandemic: ADR was £54.09 in 2020 and £80.35 in 2022 — a rise of nearly 60% in four years.
Attractions, the Beatles and football
- The Museum of Liverpool drew 829,692 visitors in 2024 and 949,762 in 2025 — up 14.5% and enough to make it the most visited attraction in the North of England in ALVA's figures (LCR Destination Partnership).
- Other National Museums Liverpool venues surged in 2025: the World Museum reached 676,984 visitors (back to pre-pandemic levels) and the Walker Art Gallery grew 47% to 258,222.
- Beatles heritage was estimated to be worth £81.9 million a year and 2,335 jobs to Liverpool's economy in a 2016 University of Liverpool/LJMU study, which found the Beatles economy growing by up to 15% a year (LJMU); the Beatles Story attraction alone drew 240,750 visitors in 2024.
- Football is a major visitor draw: nearly 400,000 people took the Anfield stadium tour in 2024, and LFC Stadium Tours was named Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards (UKinbound).
- Major events pull huge crowds: the free River of Light festival attracted 400,000 people in 2024, while the Grand National at Aintree drew 120,259 paying spectators.
The Eurovision 2023 legacy
- Hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2023 generated a £54.8 million net boost to the Liverpool City Region economy (Invest Liverpool).
- 473,000 people attended Eurovision events, including 306,000 additional visitors to the city and 250,000 at the Eurovision Village over ten days.
- Hotels sold 175,000 rooms in May 2023 — the best month on record since 2018 — and the three live shows reached 162 million viewers worldwide.
- The legacy is measurable: repeat visits by Eurovision attendees added a further £11.1 million in the year after the event, with 54,417 returning visitors making 72,454 additional trips (Liverpool Express).
- The 'Eurovision effect' has helped the region secure future major events including UEFA EURO 2028 fixtures and The Open golf championship.
Sources
- VisitBritain — Inbound visits and spend: trends by UK town (ONS IPS)
- Liverpool City Region Tourism Dashboard, October 2025 (STEAM, STR, IPS, ICCA)
- Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership — 2024 STEAM results
- Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership — LJLA record 2025
- Liverpool Chamber of Commerce — LJLA 2024 results
- Liverpool John Lennon Airport annual traffic (UK Civil Aviation Authority statistics)
- Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership — ALVA 2025 visitor figures
- Invest Liverpool — Eurovision 2023 economic impact
- Liverpool Express — Eurovision legacy one year on
- UKinbound — LFC Stadium Tour visitor numbers
- Liverpool John Moores University — Beatles heritage economic impact report
