Last year’s Olympic Games were widely credited for providing a massive boost to tourism in the UK but more overseas tourists visited the theatre than live sporting events, according to new figures.
Of the trips made to the UK by foreign visitors, over a year 2.8 million people bought tickets for a musical or play compared to the 1.3 million who attended any form of sporting event, according to VisitBritain.
Musicals have proved popular to foreign visitors, making up 64 per cent of all theatre visits, with plays accounting for 25 per cent of total visits.
Not only did more tourists flock to Britain’s theatres but on average they also spent more, with the average spend for the non-theatre goer being £600 while the theatre-keen spent an average of £983.
Sports events also brought in a tourist haul of of £1.1bn while those visiting theatres eclipsed that tall, bringing in £2.7bn during the year.
The data also revealed that overseas theatre-goers were very London-centric. 24 per cent of holiday visitors who stay in London will go to the theatre while 9 per cent of overseas holiday visitors staying in the West Midlands and northwest of England visited the theatre.